The Way Forward

Abstract

Among the productivity-enhancing technologies, protected cultivation has a tremendous potential to increase the yield of vegetables and flower crops by several folds. Greenhouse crop production is now a growing reality throughout the world with an estimated 405,000 ha of greenhouses spread over in all the continents. The purpose of growing crops under greenhouse conditions is to extend their cropping season and to protect them from adverse environmental conditions, such as extreme temperatures and precipitation, and from diseases and pests. Quality is a high priority for greenhouse crops, requiring much care in pest and disease management, not only to secure yields but also to obtain a high cosmetic standard.

Historically, not enough attention has been paid to exploiting and amending production technology for the control of pests and diseases. This makes the control of pests and diseases in protected crops even more challenging, with many important problems being unresolved and new ones arising as the industry undergoes more changes in production systems. Integrated pest management (IPM) is a systematic approach to manage pests that involves the integration of cultural, physical, biological, host resistance including transgenic plants, and chemical practices to grow crops with minimal use of pesticides. With a long-term perspective, it is easier to see that an investment in IPM can pay for itself in a higher-quality crop and a cleaner environment.