 Hello everyone, my name is Aynava Majumdar. I'm an Extension Professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Auburn University and also the State's Chair Coordinator. Today I'm going to be talking about insect-pressed exclusion system, especially the temporary pest exclusion system. Many caterpillar species are common on fruits and vegetables across Alabama. Here are some common caterpillars that you will see on a variety of crops, especially feeding in multiple generations, overlapping generations resulting in heavy crop loss. These caterpillars come from moths and oftentimes we overlook that these moths can also be the target of an IPM system, especially like the pest exclusion system that targets to stop these moths. Also there are many sting bug species and leaf fruit bugs that are very common and they will cause qualitative loss on the fruits and these are also the targets of pest exclusion system. Essentially there are three levels of IPM or Integrated Pest Management, level one systems-based practices, level two which includes the pest exclusion practices and the temporary pest exclusion system we're going to look into today and also level three which is use of insecticides as needed. Here's the basics of a temporary exclusion system. The main principle is to stop the moths or insects from getting to the host plants. The temporary system is a short-term solution and the goal is to prevent infestation of insects. They're fairly easy to use and minimal trailing is needed for this kind of exclusion system to be implemented on small farms or market gardens. There are many examples of fabric that can be used. These are polyethylene fabric, for example superlite insect barrier, agrofabric pro-19, covatan pro-19 and protect net. Some of these materials are long-lived and can be reused, some may not. Here's some ways of how to use the fabric. In this method the PVC or plastic frame was used and put directly in the ground and then the fabric is stretched over the plants. Ideally the best way to do pest exclusion is to install the netting immediately after transplanting or immediately after seed germination happens and this also promotes good growth of the plants due to the additional heat that is trapped under the fabric. So here you are looking at the two fabric like the agrofabric pro-19 and protect net, protecting the tomatoes. Another way to install the netting would be to put the net or the fabric over removable frames and this can be done very effectively on raised beds and community gardens and some farmers and some gardeners even have these on hinges so you can move the frame or lift the frame up for reaching to the plants. The goal is to essentially cover the plants immediately after transplanting and you need a very good seal of the fabric so it doesn't move with the wind and it keeps the insects out. So here this video shows installation of super light insect barrier which is one of the low cost fabric and use of sandbags to keep the fabric down over multiple rows of tomatoes. Here are some examples of farmers who have used and tried this method with great success. For example eggplants can be grown inside these low tunnels with the super light insect barrier or in this case the cobitin barrier and eggplants are then protected from flea beetles and aphids. Producers can also grow brassica crops or cool system crops under this fabric and using low hoops. Ideally the plants should not touch the fabric so that insects don't feed through the fabric so a little higher frame would be great to give you a longer term protection. You can also combine the exclusion fabric with the use of beneficial insects like the convergent lady beetle and lace wings. You can release them inside to control any escapes such as aphids that may have come through infested transplants and the biological beneficial insects are very effective in controlling those pests in low numbers. As a reminder don't forget to scout your crops. Remember that pest prevention is better than cure especially in organic systems. Manage insect pests when they're small or low in numbers. Protect the natural enemies and integrate variety of ways or insect control methods as we have discussed here. For more information please download and install the farming basics phone app which is a great resource for identifying insects diseases has information on crops and calculators. It also links to our social media page and directly connects you to the regional extension agent based on your location.