If pests are found by quarantine inspectors, a shipment may be rejected, and the grower may lose permission to export. Due to the risks associated with quarantine pests, growers use pesticides intensively prior to harvest. Even with intensive insecticide use, growers of orchids and anthuriums have trouble controlling thrips, mites and whiteflies.
Many growers decide when to apply pesticides based on the calendar, instead of scouting for pests.
This approach accelerates the development of pesticide resistance. However, effective post-harvest treatments are not available for all flower crops. For these commodities, approved quarantine treatments, or a change in the current quarantine law, is required. In addition, we are developing new quarantine treatments for control of green scale on gardenia. Preliminary indications are that thrips are randomly distributed within orchid plantings.