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OCR for page 336
CASE STUDY
7
Florida Fresh-Market
Vegetable Production:
Integrated Pest Management
F OUR FARMS IN SOUTH FLORIDA that produce fresh-market vegetables are
the subject of this case study. The common element linking these
farms is that they are all served by the same integrated pest management
(IPM) pest scouting service, Glades Crop Care, Inc. (Table 1~.
GENERAL DATA
Hun4Zey Farms of Loxahatchee: The farmer, John Hundiey, grows 1,500 acres
of sweet corn, 120 acres of cabbage, 3,000 acres of radishes, 1,600 acres of
seed corn, and 1,300 acres of leafy vegetables. He also has a 120-acre orange
grove and 1,500 acres of sugarcane; he runs cattle on 500 acres of pasture.
Ted Winsberg of Palm Beach: This farm consists of 350 acres of irrigated
sandy soil. Winsberg has raised fresh-market peppers on all of this land
continuously for over 10 years.
John GarguiZIo of Naples: The Garguillo Farm is located south of Ft. Myers,
on the west side of the state. John Garguillo raises 1,300 acres of staked
tomatoes for the fresh market.
Fred Barked of Immokalee: Fred Barfield raises 1,000 acres of vegetables,
primarily bell peppers (green, red, purple, and yellow), tomatoes, and
cucumbers. He has also grown eggplant and yellow squash. The farm in-
cludes a 550-acre orange grove, a 1,000-cow purebred Beefmaster herd, and
a 1,200-cow m~xed-breed, commercial herd.
Glades Crop Care, Inc.: AD four of these farms employ Glades Crop Care,
Inc. (GCC), the largest IPM farm pest scouting service in south Florida. The
GCC staff consists of about 20 field scouts as well as a backup staff. The
scouts have at least a B.S. degree in an agricultural discipline and are
supported by a technical staff (with M.S. or Ph.D. degrees) under the
336
OCR for page 337
FLORIDA VEGETABLE PRODUCTION
TABLE 1 Summary of Enterprise Data for Four Farms in Florida
337
Category
Description
Farm sizes 350-9,640 acres
Labor and All four farms hire the services of an IPM scouting firm during all
management phases of crop growth. The firm provides frequent and extensive
practices scouting. One grower (Winsberg) retains his labor force even if
crop prices decline to the labor cost of harvesting.
Marketing strategies Fresh produce is marketed through a regular packing plant owned
by the farm firm (Garguillo), a cooperative (Hundley), or a
vegetable exchange (Winsberg).
Weed control practices Plastic mulch over seed beds smothers and shades the weeds,
preventing emergence. Herbicides are used where plastic mulch
is inappropriate.
Insect and nematode An IPM scouting service is used by all four farms, which greatly
control practices reduces pesticide usage. The long, hot growing season, however,
necessitates chemical control: endosulfan and fenvalerate in
peppers; and methomyl, fenvalerate, and endosulfan in
tomatoes. Methyl bromide is used as a fumigant for nematodes.
Pesticide usage has been substantially cut in all cases.
Disease control The farmers use soil fumigation and rely on several applications of
practices fungicides and bactericides to control plant diseases.
Soil fertility Commercial fertilizers are used to supply N. P. K, Ca, and trace
management elements.
Irrigation practices Fields are subirrigated with seepage from parallel ditches 80 feet
apart.
Crop and livestock No yield impacts were reported.
yields
Financial performance All four farms appear to be financially sound. The farmers report
per-acre cost savings of as much as $400 from the use of IPM
pest scouting and ensuing reductions in the frequency of
pesticide applications.
direction of H. Charles MeDinger. The committee's interviewer was accom-
panied on the farm visits by Madeline Biemueller Mellinger, president of
GCC.
The fundamental concept of IPM is that only when a pest reaches an
economic damage level that is, when the expected decline in the value of
revenue from sale of the crop exceeds the cost of spraying will treatment
(usually a pesticide) be employed. For an IPM program to be effective, the
pest scout must be completely familiar with the cultural practices being
used on the farm: field preparation, bed fumigation and formation, fertil-
izer application, transplanting or seeding, and irrigation.
Scouting begins at the transplant greenhouse for some crops to ensure
that diseases and insect problems are not spread to the fields. The IPM
monitoring program continues in the production fields through the harvest;
during this stage, scouts monitor pest populations and evaluate any dis-
eases that are present and their severity. GCC has developed extensive field
manuals that assist their scouts with pest and disease identification and
monitoring techniques.
OCR for page 338
338
ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE
Threshold or action levels of acceptable pest populations may be estab-
lished by the IPM scouting firm or by the growers themselves, but usually
these levels are set through discussion and agreement between the grower
and the firm. Once these threshold levels are reached, a treatment is rec-
ommended by the scouting firm, subject to approval by the grower. One of
the direct benefits of pest scouting is that it quantifies the stages of the
insects, thus permitting the grower to apply pesticide to the early instar or
egg stage or to the early disease lesions. Therefore, a much lower rate of
pesticide can be used and a much higher level of control will result, often
eliminating the need for follow-up applications.
Climate
South Florida has a subtropical climate (Table 2~. Precipitation in the Ft.
Myers area, for example, averages 54 inches per year. The normal minimum
temperature in January is 52°F. Parts of south Florida occasionally have
freezing temperatures.
PHYSICAL AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
South Florida is characterized by flat topography and a high water table
that fluctuates between 18 and 24 inches below the surface. The two generic
soil types are sandy and an organic soil, muck.
Sandy Soils
Sandy soils occur on both the east coast west of Palm Beach and on the
southwestern half of the state around Naples and Immokalee. The topog-
raphy is flat, and the elevation is only a few feet to 10 feet above sea level.
Irrigation is provided by a seepage subirrigation system. The land is laser-
leveled, and a system of ditches is used to maintain the water table at the
desired depth of 15 to 18 inches below the surface.
Typically, each field is rectangular, approximately 20 to 40 acres in size,
and surrounded by a diked main irrigation ditch. This main ditch can be
flooded with a low-lift pump to a level higher than the field. Subirrigation
ditches are dug about every 80 feet parallel to the crop beds. Water flooded
into these ditches seeps under the beds to wet the roots from below by
raising the water table. Water reaches the plant from the perched water
table by a capillary-type system. The water moves upward under the raised,
plastic-covered beds, except when the fields are being drained. During
excessive rainfall the water table can be lowered by reversing the system
and pumping the water out of the fields.
Maintaining the water table at the 15- to 18-inch level is critical for proper
root development and efficient fertilizer and water usage. A higher water
table will cause excessive fertilizer leaching and pumping costs and will
waste water. If the water table is too low the soil near the vegetable bed
OCR for page 339
339
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OCR for page 340
340
ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE
surface may become so dry under the plastic that the nutrients from the
top-banded fertilizer are not dissolved and therefore cannot be absorbed by
the vegetable plants.
Typical practice in this area has been to grow sugarcane or other dense
plantings along the drainage ditches to minimize wind damage to the crop
and also to reduce wind erosion. One grower, Ted Winsberg, grows tropical
plants along each irrigation ditch, a practice that gives the fields a beautiful
appearance and generates additional income.
Muck Soils
The muck soils are located in the central part of south Florida on the east
and south sides of Lake Okeechobee. Fields composed of such soils are
typically flooded in the off-season to control diseases and minimize soil
oxidation and subsidence, soil-borne insects, and some weed problems. The
irrigation system for muck soils is basically the same as that for sandy soils:
fields are divided into 20- to 40-acre rectangles, and the perimeter is sur-
rounded by dikes and irrigation ditches. The fields are flooded in 20-day
cycles during the growing season. Water is left on the ground for 10 days;
the fields are then drained and dried for 10 days. This process is repeated
two or three times, depending on the available time between crops, and it
appears to reduce significantly the populations of soil-borne pathogens,
weeds, and insects. The need for pesticides is also reduced or eliminated.
The intensive cultivation of muck soils causes soil subsidence. Madeline
Mellinger and John Hundley reported that up to 1 inch of muck soil is being
lost each year, primarily through oxidation. Measurements at the Ever-
glades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade indicate that, over a
40-year period, nearly 4 feet of muck soil has been lost. Until 10 to 15 years
ago, the oxidation of these soils was of little concern to many farmers
because the organic soil appeared very deep. In recent years, however, some
muck soil areas have become too shallow to grow certain crops, and concern
about conserving the remaining soil is great. Local extension personnel have
observed that the only major crop that could be produced without a major
loss of soil is paddy rice.
MANAGEMENT FEATURES
Pesticide Use
Because consumers, with few exceptions, demand blemish-free fresh veg-
etables with cosmetic appeal, commercial-scale vegetable growers produce
fruit and vegetables free of insect or disease damage. Consequently, vege-
table growers spend a great deal of time and money protecting their crops
to ensure this cosmetic appeal.
During an interview in 1986, the extension agent in Palm Beach County
said that because of the climate in this part of the state, he doubted if it
OCR for page 341
FLORIDA VEGETABLE PRODUCTION
341
would be feasible to produce vegetables on commercial-scare farms in this
area, considering today's technology, without chemical pesticides. He also
observed that sugarcane may be the only major crop grown on a large scale
in this area that can be produced without the substantial use of chemical
pesticides.
According to H. C. MeDinger (correspondence, 1987), the cane fields have
been infested with the imported fire ant that feeds on cane borers, the
principal insect pest of sugarcane in this area. As a result, spraying for
borers has been significantly reduced; some fields have not been sprayed in
10 or more years. Sugarcane is replanted each third to fifth year, and, for
the benefit of the harvesting crews, the fields are burned each year before
harvesting to suppress the fire ants and leaf debris. About half of the
400,000 acres of sugarcane are hand-harvested in Florida.
Unlike sugarcane, however, vegetables require pesticide application. Still,
the extension agent reports that the extensive use of IPM programs such as
that offered by GCC has greatly reduced traditional pesticide usage. But he
adds that because of the tropical growing conditions, even with IPM scout-
ing, the levels of chemical usage in south Florida are still greater than those
in most farming areas of the United States.
Except in parts of interior Florida, most vegetable crops are grown using
raised beds covered with plastic mulch sheeting. This type of mulching
system, which has been used extensively in Florida for about 15 years, has
helpect minimize wind erosion and the plant nutrient leaching caused by
heavy rains. The use of chemicals, however, is an important part of this
system. Most of the plant beds are fumigated each year with chioropicrin
and methyl bromide just before the plastic is laid down. Soil fumigation
and plastic mulch suppress nematodes, soil-borne diseases, and insects and
obviate the use of herbicides.
Because of the area's topography and porous soils, drinking water sup-
plies may become contaminated by agricultural pesticides. These substances
need only sink 15 to 18 inches to reach the water table. The possibility of
public policies banning the use of widely used pesticides is a matter of
some concern to Florida vegetable growers. The extension agent also indi-
cated that vegetable growers are also worried about federal price supports.
Some growers maintain that if the price support for U.S. sugar is dropped,
the cane fields will be brought into vegetable production and flood the
vegetable market, suppressing prices and causing substantially reduced
farm income. This view is not held by all experts in the field, however, as
noted by H. C. Mellinger (correspondence, 1987~.
IPM Features
The preliminary results of a 1986 survey of 40 tomato farms conducted by
the University of Florida (K. Pohronezny, interview, 1986) indicate that
farmers using IPM programs have been able to reduce their insecticide
inputs by about 21 percent. Sixty-two percent of the growers hiring com-
OCR for page 342
342
ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE
mercial scout firms reported that their net returns increased (by an average
of $121.00 per acre) as a result of their participation in the IPM scouting
program. The other 38 percent of the growers reported no change in net
returns: scouting costs equaled their savings from reduced sprays. Among
growers who monitored their own fields or relied on minimal scouting by
chemical company representatives, 54 percent reported a net savings aver-
aging $62.00 per acre (K. Pohronezny, interview, 1987~. Scouting tends to
reduce insecticide costs and levels of application but causes no reduction in
the use of fumigants, fungicides, or bactericides.
Madeline Mellinger, president, and H. Charles MeRinger, technical direc-
tor, of Glades Crop Care, Inc., maintain that their crop scouting and con-
sulting service has a significant impact on the amount of pesticides used in
the south Florida farming community (excluding the Homestead area, which
is outside of their territory). They estimate that their company serves ap-
proximately one-third of the vegetable acreage in this area; another one-
third of the acreage is operated by former GCC clients who now employ in-
house IPM scouts. Thus, the MeRingers estimate that approximately two-
thirds of the total vegetable acreage in south Florida is managed with an
IPM program. In addition, there are at least three other IPM scouting
companies in south Florida, ranging from a single owner-scout operation to
one employing five scouts (K. Pohronezny, interview, 1986~.
As part of the service provided by GCC, the customer's fields and plants
are monitored twice weekly, and the grower is told what insect and mite
populations are present, their instar or stage, their locations on the plants,
their in-field distribution, and the size of the population. The scouts iden-
tify the diseases present, quantify their severity, and pinpoint new activity
or spread. An important aspect of GCC's disease control service is a system
of field management in which GCC works closely with the grower to elimi-
nate introductory sources and reservoirs of disease in and around the fields
and to eliminate or reduce the spread of a disease in the fields once the
plants have become infected.
A grower who relies on the observations of a pest scout applies less
insecticide than non-IPM growers for two reasons: (1) pesticides are applied
only for those pests present in the field, and (2) lower rates of pesticide can
be applied because the scout reports the eggs and early larval instars rather
than waiting until populations of larger insects have reached critical levels.
The scout also helps to identify and refine routine prophylactic and reme-
dial insect and disease control practices used by the grower.
According to H. C. Mellinger, some growers also use the Bacillus thurin-
giensis products extensively for larval control; other more specifically tar-
geted insecticides are also used to take advantage of the beneficial insects
that may control more harmful species. K. Pohronezny has observed that
this practice became quite popular in the late 1970s but has since been
largely replaced by applications of a new class of insecticides, the synthetic
pyrethroids.
Regarding the direct costs of a pest control program with and without the
OCR for page 343
FLORIDA VEGETABLE PRODUCTION
343
IPM scouting, H. C. MeDinger reported that, for a fresh-market tomato
crop, an average routine pesticide program applied preventatively every 2
to 5 days (without scouting) will cost the grower between $450.00 and
$700.00 per crop acre for control products alone. Using IPM, a grower's
direct pest control costs range from $200.00 to $300.00 per crop acre for
average insect stress years. Much of this cost reduction results from the
proper timing of insecticide use, which often eliminates the need for repeat
applications; reduced rates of use because insecticide is applied to the early
instars and stages; and the application of products only when necessary,
that is, for those insects present at economic threshold levels. Another
major benefit of IPM is reduced stress on the environment. Finally, there
are the other benefits of reduced pesticide use, including less exposure for
workers, less demand for and wear of spray rigs, fewer empty pesticide
containers to dispose of, and fewer supervisory hours.
For the bell pepper crop the costs are similar to those for tomatoes; the
crop growing season is longer, but the insecticide usage is slightly less
intense than in growing tomatoes. The same principles apply: using biolog-
ical control materials along with the other IPM tools. In fact, the pest
spectrum of bed peppers makes then more-amenable than the tomato crop
to a greater use of biological and more specifically targeted insecticides.
Sweet corn is another widely planted vegetable crop with major insect
and disease problems. The Mellingers estimate that scouting has had a
substantial impact on both insecticide and fungicide usage in the sweet
corn industry. Of the tens of thousands of sweet corn acres in south Florida,
about 80 to 90 percent operate under an IPM program (Tables 3 and 4~.
Most of the insect problems in sweet corn involve larvae feeding in the stalk
or ear. Methomy! (in liquid or granular form) is most commonly used for
larval control, and mancozeb or chlorothalonil is commonly used for blight
diseases. According to H. C. Mellinger, IPM scouting can now reduce sweet
corn pesticide applications by up to 50 percent for insects and 25, percent
for diseases. [PM practices on other vegetable crops have produced similar
results.
Glades Crop Care finds its largest task to be one of educating growers
about the life cycles of pests, disease dissemination principles, and modes
of action of pesticides and their spectra. Once this educational process is
completed, the grower's progress toward an effective IPM program is often
swift and sure. The four farmers profiled in this case study are good exam-
ples.
John Hundley of Hundley Farms has been a GCC client for the past 14
years. He employs the company to scout all of the vegetable fields, which
are mainly composed of peat soils. Based on GCC's findings, Hundley
decides what pest population levels can be tolerated before spraying his
crop. He relies primarily on flooding and cultivation for weed control; some
herbicides are used, but few herbicides are registered for use on minor
crops. Before hiring GCC, Hundley reported that he followed a prophylactic
or regularly schedulecl pesticide spray program for each crop, spraying
OCR for page 344
344
ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE
every other day or so. If a pest build-up problem occurred, he increased the
rate of pesticide application. For the past 12 years, however, GCC has
monitored each field, and Hundiey now sprays only when necessary to
prevent an economic level of damage (the value of the crop loss exceeds the
remedial treatment cost).
In his 1986 sugarcane crop, Hundley sprayed for sugarcane borers for the
first time in 3 years. Normally, high populations of fire ants control the
borers satisfactorily. He thinks that the reason he had to spray was because
he had planted sweet corn next to the sugarcane fields, and drift from the
spraying for sweet corn pests killed the fire ants in the cane.
Ted Winsberg has been growing peppers continuously on the same 350
acres for 30 years. For the past 12 years, he has been using the raised-bed
TABLE 3 Per Acre Pesticide Application for Fall Sweet Corn Under IPM in the
Everglades Agricultural Area, 1980
Pesticide
Methomyl
Date (Insecticide)
Toxaphenea Mancozeb
(Insecticide) (Fungicide)
Manganese
(Fertilizer)
Cost/Active Ingredient
9/30 1 pint
10/6 1 pint
10/11 1 pint
10/14 1 pint
10/17 1 pint
11/1 1 pint
11/2 1 pint
11/3 1 pint
11/5 1 pint
11/7 1 pint
11/9 1 pint
11/11 1 pint
11/14 1 pint
11/17 1 pint
11/19 1 pint
Insecticide, fungicide, and manganese
$48.75 $5.30
Application (15 applications at $2.00 each)
Herbicide (2 pounds atrazine + 1 quart
11-E oil postemergence)
Scouting
Total
aThe Environmental Protection Agency has cancelled toxaphene for all agricultural uses except
as a livestock dip for parasites.
SOURCE: K. Shuler, Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Palm Beach County,
Florida, correspondence, 1986.
1 pint
1 pint
1 pint
1 pint
1 pint
1 pound
1 pound 1 pound
1 pound $ 6.40
1 pound 4.31
4.31
4.31
6.40
3.25
3.25
3.25
3.25
3.25
3.25
3.25
3.25
3.25
3.25
Costs
$3.80 $0.38 $ 58.23
30.00
4.44
7.50
$100.17
OCR for page 345
FLORIDA VEGETABLE PRODUCTION
345
TABLE 4 Typical Per Acre Pesticide Application for Fall Sweet Corn Not Using
IPM in the Everglades Agricultural Area, 1980
Pesticide
Methomyl
Date (Insecticide)
Toxaphenea
(Insecticide)
Mancozeb Manganese
(Fungicide) (Fertilizer)
Cost/Active Ingredient
9/30
10/2 I/` pound
10/5 I/` pound
10/7 I/` pound
10/11 I/. pound
10/14 I/. pound
10/17 ~/¢ pound
10/20 I/` pound
10/24 I/` pound
10/27 i/` pound
10/30 I/` pound
11/2 i/. pound
11/5 I/. pound
11/7 I/. pound
11/9 I/` pound
11/12 I/. pound
11/14 I/` pound
11/16 i/. pound
11/18 I/. pound
11/20 I/. pound
11/22 I/. pound
11/25 i/. pound
11/27 }/4 pound
1 quart
1 pint
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
1 pound
2.13
6.26
5.20
5.34
5.34
5.20
5.34
5.34
5.34
5.20
3.25
3.25
5.20
3.25
3.25
5.20
3.25
3.25
3.25
3.25
3.25
3.25
3.25
Insecticide, fungicide, and manganese
$71.50 $3.19
Application (23 applications at $2.00 each)
Herbicide (1~/z pounds atrazine postemergence)
Total
Costs
$21.45 $0.70 $ 96.84
46.00
2.48
$145.32
aThe Environmental Protection Agency has cancelled toxaphene for all agricultural uses except
as a livestock dip for parasites.
SOURCE: K.Shuler, Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Palm Beach County,
Florida, correspondence, 1986.
plastic mulch cultural practice. Winsberg has used GCC pest scouting for
10 years.
Peppers are planted in August and September through a layer of plastic,
the top surface of which has been colored white to reflect the heat. This
material costs $300.00 per acre. Later plantings (after September) are planted
on black plastic, which costs $200.00 per acre. Although the use of plastic
with the bed system has doubled his yields, Winsberg said that his costs
OCR for page 346
346
ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE
have more than tripled. The ground is fumigated with methyl bromide at a
cost of approximately $124.00 per acre, plus labor, equipment, and plastic.
To make the plastic mulch system work, all fertilizer must be applied
before the plastic is spread over the field. Over $300.00 worth of fertilizer is
applied prior to planting, including 300 pounds of nitrogen per acre. One
hundred pounds of nitrogen in the form of sulfur-coated urea is broadcast
before the beds are made. (The shaping of the beds helps incorporate the
fertilizer into the soil.) Then 200 pounds of nitrogen, in a 16-0-23 nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium formulation, are applied as a band fertilizer
approximately 10 inches from the plants. The plastic helps eliminate the
leaching of nutrients by rain.
The soil is tested each year, but in practice, ah fields receive about the
same application rate of fertilizer. Weeds and nematodes are controlled
through the use of fumigation. The plastic mulch also controls most other
weeds except in the area between the beds, which is typically sprayed once
or twice with paraquat and glyphosate (K. Pohronezny, interview, 19861.
Ted Winsberg believes strongly in using pest scouting to determine the
minimum frequency and dosage of pesticide application. Yet, he also said
that, because of past experience, he is afraid not to spray. He reported that
12 years ago he eliminated chemical sprays in his pepper crop for 2 years
because of health concerns. In addition, based on extensive readings of
biological pest control literature, he released many beneficial insects to
control pests. But a severe outbreak of pepper weevils caused major finan-
cial losses.
Ted Winsberg is still very much interested in using less chemical pesticide
on his crops, but because of the huge investment involved in each acre of
peppers (up to $3,000 in operating costs before harvesting) (Table 5), he
believes that he cannot afford to not spray. He hires GCC to Took for various
pest problems, particularly insect pests and diseases, and an {PM scout is
in the field looking for pests every second or third day. Although pesticide
applications are made every second or third day, a much lower rate of
insecticide is now applied as a result of recommendations from the scouting
service.
Winsberg also reported that IPM scouting is saving him up to $200.00 per
acre in pesticides. For example, he now sprays methomyl for worms twice
per week at 1 ounce per acre; before {PM scouting, he was spraying twice a
week at 1 to 2 pounds per acre. During the growing season of peppers (160
days), insecticide and fungicide sprays will cost a total of $200.00 to $300.00
per acre and involve 40 to 80 applications. This does not include the cost of
fumigating, which is generally more than $100.00 per acre not including
labor, equipment, and plastic to seal in the fumigant.
During the past 7 years, bacterial spot in peppers has become more and
more of a problem. To control the disease, copper-containing fungicide in
combination with maneb is sprayed on the plants every third day. Up to 60
pounds of bactericide is applied annually to control the spot. Winsberg
expressed concern that excessive copper in the soil from the fungicide may
become an increasing problem.
OCR for page 347
FLORIDA VEGETABLE PRODUCTION
TABLE 5 Representative Costs for Bell Pepper Production in Palm Beach
County, 1984 (in dollars)
Category
347
Average/Acre
Operating costs
Cultural labor
Fertilizer
Gas, oil, grease
Interest (4-month operating cost)
Machine hire
Miscellaneous
Pesticides
Plastic
Repair and maintenance
Seed and transplants
Sterilants and herbicides
Total operating costs
Fixed costs
Depreciation
Insurance and licenses
Land rent
Total fixed costs
Harvesting and marketing costs
Containers
Hauling
Picking and packing
Selling fees
Total harvesting and marketing costs
Total costs
Total receipts
Net return
1,089.56
314.14
128.86
127.54
60.26
148.20
373.02
268.60
238.75
166.72
110.23
3,025.88
182.40
94.88
124.46
401.74
391.68
87.04
832.32
174.08
1,485.12
4,912.74
4,373.76
(-538.98)
Yield (bushels)
SOURCE: K. Shuler, Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Palm Beach County,
Florida, correspondence, 1986.
544
John GarguilZio reported that he uses a three-tiered system of pest moni-
toring for his 1,300 acres of fresh-market tomatoes: he has employed GCC
for 6 years to provide a full-time professional crop monitoring service; he
has trained in-house scouts, who examine the fields daily; and he also uses
another private crop consultant. Based on the findings of these three
sources, and using certain threshold levels, Garguillo decides which pesti-
cides to apply and when to spray.
The grower refused to discuss his spraying program and action threshold
levels, calling them proprietary and confidential and indicating that he
considers this to be an area in which he may have a competitive edge. He
did say that by using {PM, he has been able to cut his pesticide costs almost
in half over the past 5 years from over $500.00 per acre to $250.00 to $260.00
per acre.
Garguillo did report that he directs his field managers to apply 350 pounds
OCR for page 348
348
ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE
of nitrogen per acre, which is broadcast and worked in with a rotary hoe
prior to the shaping of the beds. The soil pH is adjusted to 5.5. He estimates
that the salts in the fertilizer reduce the pH by one point. Potassium (K2O)
is applied at 1.5 to 2.0 times the amount of nitrogen. From 50 to 100 pounds
of phosphorus (P205) plus 1,000 pounds of calcium are applied per acre.
Based on soil tests, boron, manganese, zinc, and sulfur may also be added.
As much as 60 pounds of copper-containing bactericide per acre are applied
each year to control bacterial spot. After the beds are shaped, the soil is
fumigated with methyl bromide and plastic is spread over a smooth seed-
bed.
Fred BarfieZ~ relies exclusively on the pest scouting services of GCC and
has used the company for 3 years. Barfield maintains that today's farmer
cannot afford to be out looking for insects and other pests 4 to 5 days per
week, which is what it takes to grow the quality and quantity of produce
needed to stay in business. He therefore relies on GCC to fulfill his pest
scouting requirements. He said that by spraying only when necessary, he
has saved from $200.00 to $400.00 per acre in pesticide costs. Barfield
fumigates his fields with 180 pounds of methyl bromide per acre prior to
spreading the plastic mulch.
Before 1970, however, Barfield followed a different course. He had large
areas of virgin soil, and rather than fumigate soil that had become infested
with pathogens and pests, he would bring new land into production, farm
it for a few years, and then convert * to cattle pasture after soil pests became
too much of a problem. Today, the costs of bringing new land into produc-
tion are increased by legal requirements for engineers, water-use consult-
ants, and environmental impact studies. Consequently, he now relies on
soil fumigation.
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Ted Winsberg markets all of his peppers through a vegetable exchange. He
reported that since he began using the plastic-covered bed system to pro-
duce peppers 12 years ago, his yield has doubled to its current rate of 500
to 600 cartons per acre. (A carton is approximately 1.1 bushels.) He ob-
served that almost every pepper grower is using the same cultural system.
Winsberg begins planting peppers in early August and continues until
October, and he markets his peppers from September until May. In south-
ern Florida, according to Winsberg, producers can plant year-round, but
the marketing of peppers by states further north eliminates the southern
Florida producers' market during the months of June, July, and August.
Buyers, and therefore trucks, will not come as far south as southern Florida
if they can get the supply that they need further north, closer to northern
population centers.
The price received for peppers fluctuates widely depending on weekly
supply and demand. Winsberg recalls prices as high as $38.00 per carton
after a large freeze and as low as $2.00 per carton. Typically, the price varies
OCR for page 349
FLORIDA VEGETABLE PRODUCTION
349
from $4.00 to $20.00 per carton. Winsberg reported that his break-even
price is $5.00 per carton. To retain his labor force year-round, he will con-
tinue to harvest even if the price falls to $2.00 per carton, which is basically
the cost of harvesting.
The grower indicated that one of his worst pest conditions is market
related. Whenever there is a surplus of peppers on the market and the
prices drop to below harvest costs, neighboring fields are often abandoned.
Growers are typically reluctant to plow the peppers under because they
hope for a price rise in future weeks. Yet, in order to minimize their losses,
they typically discontinue their spraying programs, and pest problems tend
to multiply.
John GarguiZIo markets all of his fresh-market tomatoes (which beginning
in 1986 carried the firm's brand name, Naples Fruit and Vegetables, Inc.)
through his own packing and shipping plant. He harvests nearly 75 million
pounds of tomatoes per year, all of which are harvested green. Nearly 20
percent are culled at the plant and given to a local farmer for animal feed;
only blemish-free tomatoes of a uniform size are marketed. Because the
packing house is integrated into the business of production, Garguillo will
continue to pick tomatoes as long as the packing house makes money.
Florida tomatoes are sold under a marketing order, on consignment, and
are owned by the farmer all the way up to the retail level. If they deteriorate
or do not sell, the farmer is not paid.
Hundley Farms' operation is vertically integrated; everything grown on the
farm is marketed through a cooperative. The cooperative HundIey uses
consists of five area farmers, and it is currently trying to develop brand-
name recognition. In addition to the superior appearance of their products,
the growers are seeking to develop a reputation for the excellent taste of
their products. To this end, Hundley has changed the varieties planted on
his farm and the way certain vegetables are packed, stored, and marketed.
The high-sugar hybrid sweet corn is a good example: HundIey said that he
has been able to market more of this corn.
The fruit and vegetable business is extremely competitive. None of the
owners of the four farms visited were wining to disclose details of their
spraying programs or the pest threshold levels they used to determine when
they sprayed. Consequently, specific information regarding cost savings on
these farms is not available. It is apparent, however, that the use of IPM by
these vegetable producers has improved the monetary and environmental
performances of these farms; cost savings of as much as $400.00 per acre
were reported. Another benefit is that the amounts of some pesticide appli-
cations are reduced through the use of IPM scouting, through the avoidance
of unnecessary insecticide spraying, by the selection of different pesticides,
and by the use of lower rates of pest control materials. Soil sterilization and
the application of bactericicles and fungicides have not diminished, how-
ever, and the consequences of their continued use for water pollution and
chemical residues on foods are unknown at this time.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
sweet corn
