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Comment by rmason | Hacker News Reader

When I saw the headline I knew instantly how they did it. But the one thing unexplained in the story was their claim that the seawater piped in eliminated the need for pesticides.

I would bet it was the desert climate that reduced the need for pesticides. I am willing to predict that they will eventually need to use pesticides.

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This comment explains it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12658321

Thank you, that really does explain a lot. If the economics are good I am surprised that this hasn't been tried in other places in the world.

Saudi Arabia installed center pivots in the desert to grow wheat back in the seventies. I believe at the time the US price of wheat was $3.00 per bushel and the Saudi's production cost was $12 a bushel but they still thought it was worthwhile to have some home grown wheat.

if the plants are inside a greenhouse, i think this is a major barrier to most pests.

Greenhouses can amplify pest problems as they are a closed system where things can get crazy very quickly with no natural checks and balances. They are some of the biggest consumers of pesticides.

Growing tomatoes one time under cover had a huge problem with white fly, not an unusual infestation, but a very stubborn one. While using the natural kinds may be better, pesticides are often a necessity in that situation. Your comment was completely on target for many commercial producers.

This may turn out to be a silly question, but how does a pest infest a closed system in the first place? Do they arrive in the soil? Do they fly in the door?

Could there be ways to mitigate or prevent the mechanism of infestation in the first place?

I imagine it boils down to a question of expense.

Pests can probably arrive through:

  - People's boots/clothes.
  - The water.
  - The soil/fertiliser.
  - The air.

Each of those inputs would need to be filtered. And the cost of filtration (or the entry/exit protocols for the workers) would need to be balanced against the cost of losing a crop.

Fungal spores are everywhere. And in hot humid high CO2 environment where there are no other kinds of fungal spores to compete with, and a big giant buffet of the kind of food they like...

Nom nom nom nom.

Same thing goes for insects.

Nature is constant warfare. Farming is like picking a side and arming it.

You also must contend with diseases. Mono cropping something like tomatoes is a good way to amplify them.

That's a problem if you re-use the same land again and again, but probably not so much when planting in regularly replaced coconut husks.

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