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Pests can quickly eat up an urban farmers’ yields and profits—quite literally!
How to prevent and control pests is a huge topic; much bigger than can be satisfactorily covered here. This section will introduce the “big three” types of pests, basic elements of a pest management strategy, brief thoughts on how these pests and strategies apply to urban farming, and links to references where you can learn more.
The big three: Some people think of pests as specifically animals: insects, other invertebrates, and vertebrate critters like rodents, deer, and birds. Other times people will include weeds and diseases within the definition of “pests.” All these kinds of pests can reduce crop yield, harm livestock, and cause cosmetic damage that makes fruit and vegetables undesirable to customers (Figure 18).
Weeds are plants that compete with your crops for space, light, and nutrients. If you raise livestock, weeds might be a feed source, or certain poisonous weeds might be a risk to your animals. To help you identify weeds on your farm, I recommend either Weeds of the Northeast, by Uva, Neal, and DiTomaso or Weeds of the South by Bryson and DeFelice.
Plant identification smartphone apps are also available, as well as an excellent Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/156706504394635/
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