Realistic global scouting for pests and diseases on cut rose crops.

Scouting is considered an essential component of integrated pest management strategies, but most of the techniques, which involve visual assessment, remain too time-consuming for application on a commercial scale. The global scouting method proposed here for greenhouse rose (Rosa spp.) crops combines several rapid visual methods for common pests and diseases, in a single sampling process. A 2-min observation time per sampling unit is required, with two observers. The sampling unit consists of a single stem with its flower and the corresponding basal foliage. A 90-unit regular grid (1 U/6.4 m2) was used, with weekly assessments, including a spatial distribution approach, for pest monitoring. Different grid sizes were simulated and tested with reference data, to determine whether to decrease the number of sampling units. A grid size of 1 U/21 m2 was found to be acceptable, with no significant loss of information. A more realistic and cheaper sampling strategy of this type is more likely to be accepted by growers, increasing the efficiency of crop monitoring and leading to more rational decisions.