By Blake Jackson
Garlic growers in the area are experiencing problems with their bulbs in storage. The main cause is feeding damage from dry bulb mites, a pest that is difficult to control.
There are a few things that growers can do to reduce the risk of dry bulb mite infestation, such as crop rotation, using clean planting stock, and drying the garlic crop in a high tunnel.
However, there is no guaranteed way to control dry bulb mites, and it is still unclear why some years they are a problem in storage and other years they are not.
One promising option is to use predatory mites to manage the dry bulb mites during the summer storage period. However, more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of this method.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-lishanskyphotography
Categories: Pennsylvania, Crops, Fruits and Vegetables