Biological control: A method of pest control that uses natural predators, parasites or diseases of the targeted pest. The chosen agent is very specific to the targeted pest, not damaging plants or any other beneficial insects. This makes biological pest control more environmentally-friendly and potentially more effective than the use of non-specific insecticides. It also generally avoids the increasing problem of resistance to many of the chemicals used in conventional insecticides. Biological controls are supplied pre-packaged in a dried or dormant form, requiring warmth and moisture to ‘wake’ them. They often have quite specific environmental requirements in order to be effective, and some of them are not available to the amateur gardener. They can be expensive.
Brutting: A partial breaking of hazelnut or fruit tree shoots, leaving the ends hanging, to prevent late summer growth.
Damping down: The operation of wetting the greenhouse floors and staging in order to increase humidity, especially when the weather is hot and dry. This helps prevent pests, such as red spider mite, and diseases like powdery mildew, which need a dry atmosphere to thrive.
Kernel: The softer, often edible, part of a seed, which may include the whole seed when applied to cereals, or the inner part only when referring to nuts, which are encased in a hard shell. In sweetcorn, the kernels are the individual yellow grains making up the surface of the cobs.
