Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Managing the tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta, on Crete, Greece, is essential given the critical role of tomato production for the agricultural economy of Crete. Effective pest management should ensure sustainable practices and minimize economic losses. Pest management against the tomato pinworm is, however, often performed with business as usual methods and professional advisory assistance for integrated pest management is rare.
This study compared the impacts of business as usual management where pest management is based on the traditional methods that farmers use and advised pest management in which pest management follows expert instructions and recommendations to reduce the use of insecticides, through a cost benefit analysis conducted across twelve greenhouses in Ierapetra and Tympaki, with the aim to determine the effectiveness and sustainability of these approaches in tomato cultivation. Results showed that greenhouses utilizing professional advisory services had significantly lower overall cultivation costs and specific expenses related to the tomato pinworm management compared to those following business as usual. Although costs in advised pest control greenhouses were lower this did not affect profits. Furthermore, farms receiving expert advice adopt more environmentally friendly practices, such as the use of pheromone traps to monitor pest densities and the use of natural enemies for biological control, which contribute to sustainable agricultural outcomes.
These findings underscore the importance of integrating expert advice into pest management strategies as the adoption of such practices enhanced pest control efficiency. The knowledge acquired from this study should reach farmers, policymakers, and agricultural advisors, to raise awareness for a change in tomato production on Crete and beyond towards more sustainable, productive, and economically viable agricultural practices. Finally, this study contributes to the larger discourse on sustainable development in agriculture, for which the adoption of innovative solutions is needed in order to face new challenges posed by agricultural pests.