Pest Control & Plant Health

Pest Control & Plant Health in hydroponics is an issue that all growers have at the back of their minds more or less constantly.

Because hydroponic growing takes place indoors without the need for soil, plants are less exposed to the bugs, pests and carriers of disease that would otherwise be the case out in the open. It’s much more difficult for these pests to enter the hydroponic growing environment.

Hydroponic growing rooms and tents do their best to keep their space under optimum conditions. Growers can control the environment to a great extent by artificial means to emulate the perfect growing conditions that occur in nature, except this is delivered to the plants all the time. But in seeking to imitate nature in this way, the methods used also work well to keep out undesirable elements, such as the parasites and pests that cause plant disease.

The most common pests in hydroponic setups are aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, fungus gnats and thrips. These cannot live in a sterile environment, so growers should foster a culture of always keeping the equipment as clean as possible.

This cleanliness even extends so far as making your water and nutrient solution containers completely opaque so as not to allow in any light, which may start to form a colony of algae.

Growers need to be proactive in their vigilance against pests and diseases. Always look for spots on leaves and discolouration, plants that suddenly wilt or droop for no apparent reason, and similar signs on your plants’ stems and those nearby.

You’ll find you can monitor pest control & plant health with temperature and humidity, especially the latter. You can prevent hot spots from developing by keeping a circulation fan on all the time, which will waft the air in a gentle breeze and prevent areas of excess heat and humidity from forming.