Want this content straight to your inbox?

Join over 5,000 vertical farming executives, investors, and other subscribers on our newsletter below:

“If urbanvine.co had existed when I got into Vertical Farming back in 2012, I'd have saved 3 years in that quest to learn it!”

Mark-Horler
- Zjef Van Acker, Former Chief Engagement Officer, Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) 

“Urban Vine sends out lovely and detailed information on the future of farming in their newsletter, I recommend joining!”

Hank
- Hank van Apeldoorn, Urban Vine Co Subscriber

How to Control Root Aphids

Root aphids are a significant pest that can affect indoor farmers if they are not careful.

One main driver of root aphids is temperature. In environments with high temperature, often generated by grow lights without proper airflow, aphids can have an opportunity to thrive.

One especially hard characteristics of root aphids is the speed that they can strike, these small white insects (which can fly), can significantly damage your crops in less than 24 hours! 

Even more frustrating? 

Root aphids can burrow into grow media such as rockwool and cococoir, media that are often used as a soil substitute for hydroponic farmers.

So how do you identify and then eventually manage root aphids? 

We will provide some tips in this section.

Source

Below are some potential solutions for root aphids: 

  • If the root aphids have been attracted by a nutritional deficiency in the plant, then supplements to correct any deficiencies can be helpful. Examples of micronutrients are: chlorine, molybdenum, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, and boron
  • For small infestations, lady bugs can be a very fast and effective biological control. Lady bugs will even remove aphids deeply entrenched in grow media
  • For more widespread infestations, try Azadirachtin, Pyrethrum, or Lemongrass Oil

A Note on Application

  • Simply spraying the plants with any of the above treatments will most likely not be sufficient
  • A better method that will get you better results is root drenching
  • Root drenching entails submerging the roots of plants in the solution, for example, Lemongrass oil, shaking or agitating the container

For more info on root drenching, check out this helpful article

Did you like this article? 

Be sure to subscribe below to get more articles like this straight to your inbox! 

Want this content straight to your inbox?

Join over 5,000 vertical farming executives, investors, and other subscribers on our newsletter.

“If urbanvine.co had existed when I got into Vertical Farming back in 2012, I'd have saved 3 years in that quest to learn it!”

Mark-Horler
- Zjef Van Acker, Former Chief Engagement Officer, Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) 

“Urban Vine sends out lovely and detailed information on the future of farming in their newsletter, I recommend joining!”

Hank
- Hank van Apeldoorn, Urban Vine Co Subscriber

All Articles

Babylon Micro-Farms

March 28, 2023

This interview details Babylon Micro-Farms, a leading indoor farming company based in the USA. The interview is with Chris Hollomon, Marketing Manager at Babylon Micro-Farms. To learn more about Babylon Micro-Farms and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Post

Vegbed

March 28, 2023

This interview details Vegbed, a leading indoor farming services company developing biodegradable growing media. The interview is with Albert Lin, Founder and CEO at Vegbed. To learn more about Vegbed and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Post

Greeny Grow

March 28, 2023

This interview details Greeny Grow, a leading vertical farm in Sweden. The interview is with Graham Clark, Owner of Greeny Grow. To learn more about Greeny Grow and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Post

Four Star Mushroom

March 25, 2023

This interview details Four Star Mushroom, a company growing mushrooms indoors commercially in the US. The interview is with Joe Weber, founder and President of Four Star Mushroom. To learn more about Four Star Mushroom and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Post

Fischer Farms

March 25, 2023

This interview details Fischer Farms, a leading vertical farm in the UK. The interview is with Tristan Fischer, CEO of Fischer Farms. To learn more about Fischer Farms and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Post

Agrician Hong Kong

March 21, 2023

This interview details Agrician, a Hong-Kong based vertical farming company. The interview is with Jack Leung, Founder of Agrician. To learn more about Agrician and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Post

Honest Greens Sri Lanka

March 21, 2023

This interview details Honest Greens, the first commercial scale vertical farm in Sri Lanka. The interview is with Aneeshan Tyagarajah, Director of Honest Greens. To learn more about Honest Greens and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Post

CRYSP Farms

March 18, 2023

This interview details CRYSP Farms, a Dubai-based vertical farming company. The interview is with Maan Said, CEO of CRYSP Farms. To learn more about CRYSP Farms and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Post

Ecoation

March 13, 2023

This interview details Ecoation, a Canada-based commercial yield and IPM forecasting solution for modern indoor growers. The interview is with Gavin Schneider, VP of Agronomy and Customer Success. To learn more about Ecoation and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Post

Hundred Acre Urban Farm

March 13, 2023

This interview details Hundred Acre Urban Farm, an indoor farming company based in Milwaukee, USA. The interview is with Chris Corkery, Owner. To learn more about Hundred Acre and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Post