EXTERNAL VIDEO
Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA) collaborates with growers to develop tailored crop programs that integrate biological nutrition products with regenerative farming techniques. John Kempf founded the company and hosts regular webinars on the AEA YouTube channel on various topics relating to biological and regenerative farming.
In this webinar, Dr Dykstra speaks with John Kempf and explains what constitutes a healthy plant, the intricacies of insect digestion, and how to use the Leaf Brix chart as a reference guide for any kind of pest pressure.
Dr Dykstra is a trained entomologist with a vast background in agricultural consulting. Throughout his career, Dr Dykstra has been teaching farmers the science behind insect pressure and demonstrating why insects rarely attack healthy plants.
He highlights that insects don't compete with humans and instead eat food that is considered unfit, nutritionally poor, dead or dying; fruit flies eat over-ripe fruit, flies eat carrion and dung beetles eat animal waste. He also states that if insects did eat healthy plants and fruit, tropical rainforests, which are brimming with insects, would be completely decimated within a few seasons.
He then makes the point that a plant's health can be measured with a refractometer to test the brix or the level of sugar in a sample. If plant sugar levels are measured, the Leaf Brix chart can be used as a reference guide for any kind of pest pressure. Then, steps can be taken to improve these sugar levels, thereby reducing insect pressure.
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Growing Country acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We acknowledge their deep understanding and cultural connection to these lands and waters. We look to the stewardship and guidance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Elders past and present as we regenerate these soils and nurture and cultivate a shared future together.
