Anyone who wants to achieve achiever with biological harvest protection will have to vest in natural enemies or other products as well as in a professional approach . This is the experience of chrysanthemum cultivator Linflowers in Bommelerwaard in the Netherlands . Eight geezerhood ago , the company started implement biological craw protection and now spider mites and thripid – the most famous pests – are practically a thing of the past .
Rochus van Tuijl ( in front , with Mark Kolbach ): ‘ We want to make trusted we do not need any chemicals during the twelvemonth . ’
The brothers David and Rochus van Tuijl own Linflowers which spans fifteen hectare . The society ’s three locations are used to grow the large bloom salmagundi Baltica , Ibis ( exclusively ) , Memphis , and Stresa . Via FloraHolland , they send the flowers to many buyers with a market extend from Ireland to the west to far beyond Moscow to the due east . ASDA in the UK and Kaufland in Germany are among their end client . In 2011 , the two pal conclude that they needed to set a new course . ‘ The piece of writing was on the wall , ’ excuse Rochus van Tuijl . ‘ The number of pest control condition products authorized for habit was getting modest and pesterer were quickly becoming more resistant . This put so much pressure on the wellness of the crop that it efficaciously put our plans on grip for upscaling . If you have to put so much travail into prevent your crops sound , then where is the incentive ? ’
Paul Hakkenberg and Ellen Klein . The arriver of Amblyseius montdorensis helped control the thrips population , according to Paul .
Success against thripsBiological crop protection start up with the rude foeman Phytoseiulus persimilis to combat Spider mites and other mites . It worked well , but made it instantly of the essence to battle thrip biologically too . The chemical nebuliser treatments used to combat Thrips would kill the Phytoseiulus populations . In 2015 , Linflowers entered into a collaborative agreement with Vos Capelle and Koppert . ‘ From that moment on , we tried for a while to trade with thripid by using Amblyseius swirskii ’ , says crop protection medical specialist Paul Hakkenberg , ' but the predatory hint was not the winner we needed . luckily , the tide has twist with the arrival of Montdorensis . We get down using this predatory mite in 2016 and we now have the thrip sufficiently under restraint . As Montdorensis also combats wanderer mites , we do n’t have to occupy about them any longer . ’
Practically zero use of chemicalsWhile achiever has arrived , the finish is not yet in sight because chrysanthemum crops are often also plagued by capsid hemipteron , caterpillars , leaf mineworker , and aphids . Capsid germ – at our premises the European tarnished plant microbe , the vulgar nettle mirid bug , and the common green capsid – cause the most problems and although Koppert is hard at study , an effective predatory bug has not yet been found . ‘ It seems to be the downside of the winner we had with wanderer pinch and thrip , ’ excuse Rochus van Tuijl . ‘ As a outcome of us hardly using chemical anymore , other pest insect have had the chance to establish themselves . They would probably disappear from the harvest if we just did a few chemical nebulizer treatments against wanderer mites and thrip each year . We hope that Koppert will be able-bodied to provide an effective result to the capsid bug problem presently . ’
Linflowers ’s experience picture that factors other than predatory hemipteran are also crucial . The agency in which a company sets up its biological craw protection is at least as important .
invest in the right field approachThe entrepreneur point out that opting for biological crop protection is not exactly a choice without consequences ; there are in fact far - reaching consequences . After all , success is not specify to the role of predatory bugs and sticky traps . ‘ My brother and I conclude that the right approach is very significant . On the one hand , there are many challenges , but on the other hand , Modern entropy and new knowledge are forever made useable . You have to be uncoerced and capable to habituate it all . That ’s why we decide to give one employee ( Paul Hakkenberg ) the sole task of dealing with biologic crop protection in our three garden . We see it as a worthwhile investiture in the future . After his date , Paul Hakkenberg espouse an bugology course of instruction at Koppert . He now exercise closely with the consultants Mark Kolbach from Dutch distributor Vos Capelle and Ellen Klein from Koppert . ‘ In this way , carrying out remain at a high level of quality , a horizontal surface that we want , ’ says Rochus van Tuijl .
Residue - free cuttingsOne of the next step that Linflowers will be take up business organisation the underground process : what can Koppert ’s NatuGro products do for the cultivation of cut Chrysanthemums ? A balanced soil intellectual nourishment web is worthy , because that makes the flora more bouncy . It is also important to reduce the release of N ( by allowing the works to make proficient use of nutrients ) . Less nitrogen makes the plant less appealing to thrips , aphids , and spider mites . Linflowers is also fighting in the chain . Together with blossom cuttings supplier Deliflor , the company is working on residue - free cuttings . As Paul Hakkenberg notes , ‘ we act with a sensitive craw like cut Chrysanthemums , so clear cuttings are exceedingly important . If they have no residues on them , we can initiate with the biological pest control immediately after receiving the cutting textile . We ’re being taken seriously and are making progress . Koppert ’s rinsing sample distribution research is showing this , have in mind that both their and our effort are paying off . ’
The ultimate ambitionLastly , Linflowers is working on GlobalGAP certification . This organisation is working with Koppert to develop a protocol that will enable chrysanthemum growers to importantly reduce the usage of neonicotinoids in their crop . ‘ German customer want to quit using neonics , ’ explains Rochus van Tuijl . ‘ We want to abide by with that . Our ultimate ambition is to be able to refrain from using chemicals throughout the yr . When all is tell and done , this is what both the market and club expressly call for . As we have show , we are stupefy better and better at it . ’
For more information : Koppert Biological Systems[email protected]www.koppert.com
