Agricology Field Day – Joe Rolfe Talks Integrated Pest Management & Biological Control

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Biological Control

Want to learn more about IPM and biological control? Join us in the field for a discussion and farm walk on 14th August 2019 with Joe Rolfe, who will be sharing his passions on the potential of beneficial insects in field scale horticulture.

For the past few years he has been sowing wildflower strips in field-scale horticulture as part of the Environmental Stewardship Scheme, and wildlife strips around the outside of the fields. He has also been introducing beneficial insects into the strips on a weekly basis. In the past he has conducted a number of trials including using crop covers to trap predators within the crops and exclude pests. The horticulture enterprise is part of a 7-year rotation within an arable and dairy enterprise. Diversity is key in an IPM approach with clover leys providing a key function in weed control. The benefits are clear and there is no blackgrass in the arable part of the rotation despite there being no use of herbicide.  

We will have time to explore all the enterprises across the rotation and also to learn about how to identify pests and their natural enemies, and how to encourage them in the field.

Key agroecological practices: IPM, biological control, pollen and nectar strips

Approach: Organic

System: Horticulture / Arable / Livestock

Learn about farming on Houghton Estate here https://www.agricology.co.uk/field/farmer-profiles/andrew-burgess

To book tickets CLICK HERE 

****Kindly sponsored by the World Wide Fund for Nature****