Tara Weerasuriya’s career in environmental science has provided her with a firsthand experience of the impacts of pollutants in air and water quality. In 2014, she purchased Nature’s Way Fruit Farm in Erin and committed to low-impact farming. This includes farming without herbicides, among other practices. She soon learned the challenges of integrated pest management. Intending to preserve a small oasis in the rapidly changing landscape of the Credit River Watershed, she grows organic fruits, berries and nuts for her own use and sells the surplus. Plums, apples, Asian pears, peaches, nectarines, cherries and a variety of nuts and berries all grow in her species-rich orchard.
Pest management improves with crop diversity as an increased variety of crop species makes it challenging for pests to find suitable hosts. Despite her diverse crop selection, her fruit have still experienced significant damage from pest insects. But over the past decade, she’s gained expertise in managing coddling moth, plum curculio and spongy moth without herbicides. And she’s always open to trying new methods.
Beneficial Insects
To fight these pests and diseases, Tara has taken a variety of measures. Some have been successful; others less so. For example, she plants comfrey at the base of each fruit tree to attract beneficial insects, such as wasps and beetles that prey on insect pests. One of these insect pests is plum curculio, a tiny weevil that feeds on and lays eggs in developing tree fruits. Damage can lead to large scars and bumps on the fruit and can cause premature fruit drop as the larvae inside develop.
As plum curculio larvae progress to the next stage of their life cycle, they emerge near the ground, making them vulnerable to predators such as ground beetles.
Better Beetle Habitats
In 2022, Tara connected with CVC’s stewardship team and got started on an exciting new pest management feature: beetle banks, which are long berms of soil planted with native wildflowers and bunch grasses that create habitat for beneficial insects. These berms encourage increased ground beetle populations which in turn consume more pest insects.
Ideally, the berms provide winter shelter, and when temperatures rise in the spring, the beetles quickly return to Tara’s orchard to eat pest insects, including plum curculio.
With support from CVC on the design and installation of two beetle banks, Tara strengthened her commitment to low-impact farming. Project funding was secured through the Wellington Rural Water Quality Program and Species At Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands.
Establishment of beetle banks can take a few years. But as the old saying goes, if you build it, they will come. Tara has made a long-term investment in pest control for her orchard, counting on her beetle banks to play a key role in the years ahead.
Learn more about integrated pest management:
• Enhance grassland habitat for beneficial insects on your property and get them working for you on your property.
• Start an integrated pest management project on your property. Farmers may be eligible for funding.
• CVC can help you get started.