Bell pepper grower, van der Harg from Bemmel, The Netherlands, has started fighting thrips in a completely organic way this year. By putting out the Amblyseius degenerans mite early, and by feeding it Nutrimite, he was able to discontinue using and paying for preventative chemical treatments.
In November Arno began releasing the predatory mite Amblyseius degenerans, a formidable enemy to thrips. This was an ideal time to release them as they are very active in lower temperatures and do a good job on the first larvae in the crops. How did Arno proceed from there? "We started releasing degenerans every 0,25 ind./m2 . Immediately after that we administered a 500-gram per hectare dose of Nutrimite with a nebulizer. After two weeks we re-administered the Nutrimite using the same dose. The fight against thrips is dependent upon building a strong population of A. degenerans," says Arno. "Normally, in our greenhouses, we don't see the mites develop properly until the beginning of April. After 3 to 4 weeks of using the nutritional supplement Nutrimite, the mites grew quickly, and after 7 to 8 weeks they covered the entire crop. Long before April we had a large enough population of mites to fight the thrips."
By switching off the artificial lights in March we completed our strategy by releasing Orius. Orius works well in all stages of thrips' development and can easily fly into the crops and move around. We released Orius every 0.5 square meters. With this successful strategy Arno choose to discontinue using preventative sprays and saved a lot of money in doing so.
Arno belongs to a growing number of vegetable growers in the Netherlands and Belgium who rely on Nutrimite to boost their populations and optimize their fight using organic materials. According to Bart Joosten, advisor to Biobest the Netherlands, Nutrimite is really taking over, "We have been working with Nutrimite in the field for three years now. We started with cucumbers, where we got very good results with A. swirskii. Using degenerans is also proving to have promising results with bell peppers. We are therefore convinced that many growers will follow Arno's example. Last but not least: the results are also looking good with floriculture and a mite population can be maintained where it previously could not."
For more information:
Biobest N.V.
Ilse Velden 18
2260 Westerlo - Belgium
T +32 14 25 79 80+32 14 25 79 80
F +32 14 25 79 82
www.biobest.be
info@biobest.be
Arno belongs to a growing number of vegetable growers in the Netherlands and Belgium who rely on Nutrimite to boost their populations and optimize their fight using organic materials. According to Bart Joosten, advisor to Biobest the Netherlands, Nutrimite is really taking over, "We have been working with Nutrimite in the field for three years now. We started with cucumbers, where we got very good results with A. swirskii. Using degenerans is also proving to have promising results with bell peppers. We are therefore convinced that many growers will follow Arno's example. Last but not least: the results are also looking good with floriculture and a mite population can be maintained where it previously could not."
For more information:
Biobest N.V.
Ilse Velden 18
2260 Westerlo - Belgium
T +32 14 25 79 80+32 14 25 79 80
F +32 14 25 79 82
www.biobest.be
info@biobest.be