The National Research and Development Center for Sustainable Agriculture (Estidamah) organized an open day program on integrated pest management and biological control at the Center's headquarters in Riyadh Techno Valley, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Since integrated pest management and plant disease control are among the most important practices in greenhouse crop production due to their major impact on the environment and human health, Estidamah organized this program to enable farmers in the Kingdom to adopt appropriate integrated pest management programs to reduce the use of chemical insecticides and improve fruit quality.
The integrated pest management program includes a wide range of practices, including crop rotation, measures to regulate agricultural practices, biological control, and other alternative mechanisms to supply the local market with healthy agricultural products that are as free as possible from pesticides. To achieve this strategy, Estidamah introduced attendees to the latest different techniques, including natural control, biological control, and control through biotechnology.
The Center is also working to develop new natural enemies that target specific insects, especially Tuta absoluta, the tomato leaf miner, which have been carefully selected and examined to eliminate strains that pose a threat to other beneficial organisms.
The program was attended by a large group of those interested in protected agriculture, who showed great interaction with the topics discussed in the workshop and the results presented. The attendees also made field visits to the greenhouses at Estidamah Center and received hands-on training on the latest techniques used in the field of integrated pest management and biological control.