IPM Strategies
To address an actual or perceived pest problem, one must first develop a strategy. An IPM strategy is a plan for management that uses a particular type of approach to address the pest problem. Tactics are the methods used to achieve the goals of your strategy. The strategy should try to embrace all three principles of IPM if possible. Upon discovering a pest in your cropping system, the IPM strategies that you may employ can be part of three possible responses:
Delays in issuing permits have stalled the expansion Horticultural farmers in Ethiopia want to expand their farms to remain competitive worldwide, but delays in issuing
Briefly discuss Harry (background-personal and as a grower to current position General Manager Sunland Flowers)
My name is Harry Kruger and I am the General manager of Sunland Roses Ltd. Before I came to Kenya to farm Hybrid Tea roses I studied Viticulture and Pomology in South Africa. I was busy making wine when I saw the opportunity by working in Kenya.
How do you see the future for African rose growers? What should they focus on to survive?
The world in general seems to have contradicting ideas about African rose growers. Some I’ve met still think that growers in Africa and especially in East Africa are still only concerned with the auction style of growing. African growers need to concentrate on optimizing the size of their businesses and focus more on quality rather than quantity. That being said, there are still many brilliant farms that grow for auction and that is great, but we should realize that the world is constantly changing and that the direct market is a huge force behind some of those changes. Without going into too much detail, the scenario is basically the following; other countries have been supplying the direct market place with very high quality stems for a long time and the growers in East Africa are fairly new in the game, so to speak. This is not to say that we lack anything or have inferior quality roses, but some markets seem to have this stigma, that long stemmed top quality Hybrid Tea roses do not come from Africa, but rather South America. This was perhaps true in the past, maybe about ten or fifteen years ago, but is no longer the case. Kenya, for one, produces stems that in my mind can definitely rival those from any other country. The goal should be to get markets to realize this and not simply put our flowers in the back and focus on the other countries they’re used to in the past.
When I first visited Preesman’s new show case at Thika, it was on invitation of Jelle Posthumus, the commercial manager, Preesman. I met a team honoured to satisfy the curiosity of their customers who kept on tripling every minute courting for their attention. By count I could not tell the number of times they walked in to the new show case with a different customer then back to the reception area for either continual discussion with the same client or for a fresh discussion with a new client. On a close follow up, I realized that inside the show case was more technical and less commercial whereas in the reception was more commercial and less technical. These men had a wide knowledge of the two worlds of rose breeding. In between the customers, I stole some few minutes and managed to get a few minutes of interview with several of them.
For many years, Dutch Flower Group (DFG) has been active in Africa and especially in Kenya, with respect to sourcing African products, like roses and carnations, as well as other varieties of cut flowers and foliage.
In the past, the activities of the DFG marketing and trading companies, based in Europe, were represented by two well-known local sourcing companies: Flower Sourcing Africa (FSA) and PROGRESS.
FSA was born out of the former DFG Kenya sourcing team. PROGRESS was the Mavuno Group, Professional Grower Export Support Services organisation, which after the DFG/Mavuno strategic alliance in May 2011, migrated to DFG. These two organisations for the last few years have been operating autonomously of each other, both sourcing from and supporting growers on behalf of Dutch Flower Group companies.
Due to the ever-changing market environment the way of working of Flower Sourcing Africa (FSA) and PROGRESS has become more and more comparable over the last few years. Both organisations are active on behalf of European multiple retail customers (i.e supermarkets) as well as floral wholesalers of Dutch Flower Group companies in The Netherlands and UK. These marketing companies deal with the leading parties in the consumer sales of cutflowers, bouquets and plants and work on a long-term basis together.
Helicoverpa Armigera (African Bollworm) Caterpillars In Flowers
Caterpillars are seasonal pests to the flowers but when in season result in major losses to the flower industry as one caterpillar can cause damage to more than one flower. In flowers there are different kinds of caterpillar species which include helicoverpa armigera and spodopteraexigua and thus it’s important to know the exact pest that one has in their crop and out of these two, the helicoverpa species is the notorious and listed as a notifiable pest in the European market.
Description
Helicoverpa armigera commonly known as African bollworm is the main caterpillar that infests flowers in green houses and outdoor ones. It is a pest of roses, carnations, hypericum, gypsophilla amongst other flowers. It is a moth with the larval stages referred to as caterpillar being the destructive stage. It is unique in that the moth lays its eggs singly on the roses and specifically on the softest parts of the crop. In roses the eggs are found on the flower buds and petals. The eggs are small, yellowish-white, ribbed and rather dome shaped. The egg period is two days after which it hatches to a larva- the caterpillar.
The International Flower Trade Expo (IFTEX) now enters its third year in Nairobi, Kenya, with high expectations on both quality and quantity from the organizers, exhibitors and visitors. The show, which debuted in March 2012, is quickly developing a magnetic pull for the flower industry fraternity not only in Africa but the world over.
Speaking to Floriculture Magazine in Nairobi, IFTEX organizer Dick Van Raamsdonk was positive that the show would soon become a global leader if the enthusiasm and interest the exhibitors and buyers have displayed in the past two years is anything to go by. “Together with the expected internationalization, this event will soon become a regional flower trade fair not only for Kenyan flower growers, but for growers from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Ethiopia and other African flower producing countries,” said van Raamsdonk. This year, the show has also attracted South American growers making it more international unlike the Ecudor or Colombian which are purely national.
Chakravarthi : The Grower.
With profound gratitude and humility, Chakravarthi accepted the call to work in a flower farm. Little did he know that the call will take him far from his hometown. Through hard work and sacrifice he has risen from a project manager in India to one of the most succesful flower farm managers in Kenya. He tells his story.
Briefly discuss Chakravarthi (background-personal and as a grower to current position country General Manager Panda Flowers Ltd)
I have done bachelor of science and masters of science in agriculture from Asia’s number one renowned Institute, best for agriculture research and development, Tamil nadu Agricultural university (TNAU) Coimbatore. After my education, I joined Bio dynamic agriculture as a project manager which involves organic farming and mushroom cultivation and training the farmers in to EID parry group. Accidently I was approached by one of the flower farm managers, Mr. Srinivasan, MD for Floritech India Ltd, Bengalore.
Naivasha flower farms that subscribe to Fairtrade (FLO) standards and are Fairtrade certified have completely changed the image of the District hospital maternity wing. Initially it was an image of 20 women in labour crowded in one central room quietly moaning and swaying until it is their time to go to one large delivery room to deliver in a cot-directly next to another mother giving birth. To date, it is one of the nicest African facilities handling over 500 deliveries monthly. Women and new borns can now enjoy privacy, respect and safety they deserve during their birth experiences.
Currently, it has an 80 patient bed capacity in operation which includes 18 delivery beds.
Over the past 10 years there has been major developments in floriculture and horticulture in Naivasha. This has seen migration of people and their families to the area. Over 70,000 people are employed by the flower sector, with 70% of them being female. The mushrooming employment opportunities did not match with the healthcare facilities. The Naivasha District Hospital had to cater for a population of more than 400,000 people from Naivasha and its environs whereas it was designed with half the number in mind. This resulted into an impossible situation and something had to be done.
Driven by the desire to make a difference and passion for helping others, the Managing Director Panda Flowers Mr. Igal Elfezouaty embarked on a life changing experience. Coincidentally, Cindy Berkland, a women’s health care nurse practitioner from Omaha in the United States had come visiting and had volunteered at the Naivasha District Hospital. Igal had hosted her and they shared the days’ experiences. They both agreed the town needed a bigger and more equipped maternity.
Viva… Viva… Vivando, Viva… Viva… Vivando, filled the air as one of the biggest chemical companies in the world, BASF, launched a creative mode of action with cutting edge technology for the control of powdery mildew in ornamentals. Time almost audio recorded voice of Mr. Patrick Ngugi, Country Manager-Kenya, Crop Protection and public health asked, “Are you afraid of powdery mildew? Are you concerned by the ever increasing threat of resistance build up by fungicides? Are you concerned of scotching flowers and leaving residue? Are you concerned of WHO class of your choice product, Can you achieve your goals in farming without IPM? Do you use wetter from time to time?” Each of the questionreceived a resourcing ‘Yes’ from the over 150 growers in attendance. Today I stand in front you to offer your solution, Vivando.
Launching the new product at a Naivasha Hotel, Mr. Ngugi said Vivando should mostly be used for preventive measures against powdery mildew though it has curative action. He assured farmers of the safety of the fungicide on beneficial predatory insects like bees, birds and earthworms. Adding that the fungicide has excellent components in the control of powdery mildew.
