Developing new biological solutions to offer growers effective means of controlling pests, especially in citrus and kaki crops, is one of the goals that the Anecoop cooperative group has set itself in partnership with Koppert, a leading company in the production and marketing of beneficial organisms for biological pest control in agriculture.
Signing of the framework collaboration agreement. From left to right: Juan Miguel Rodríguez, commercial director of Koppert Spain, and Alejandro Monzón, president of Grupo Anecoop.
Both entities held a meeting recently at the headquarters of Anecoop in Valencia to sign a collaboration agreement that will result in the immediate implementation of demonstration trials and outreach activities. The idea is for biological pest control techniques to become the preferred choice in integrated crop management. Thus, Anecoop will lead a paradigm shift in its sector in the management of plant health which will allow producers to be better prepared to face the challenges posed by climate change, the demands of consumers and the increasingly restrictive EU regulations around the strategy From Farm to Fork.
Moreover, several field trials will be launched on Anecoop farms to study the feasibility of new biological solutions with the potential to become real alternatives to the use of certain chemical pesticides. The first field research will focus on the long-tailed mealybug pest (Pseudococcus longispinus) in kakis, as well as on the main citrus pests. Also under consideration is the joint development of a biological control strategy for watermelons, both for greenhouses and the open ground, adapted to the needs of the different production areas managed by the cooperatives associated to Anecoop.
From left to right: Manuel Almenar, Anecoop fruit crop manager. Juan Miguel Rodríguez, commercial director of Koppert Spain. Ángel del Pino, Director of Production and Development at Anecoop. Juan Vicente Roig, of the Koppert technical department in Valencia. Nicolás Juste, R&D project coordinator at Anecoop.
Knowledge transfer
The collaboration agreement between Anecoop and Koppert will also serve to promote training and knowledge transfer in biological pest and disease control. Both Anecoop's technical field advisors and the cooperative group's producer partners will receive specific training that will be supervised by Koppert. "We know that biological pest control in agriculture has nothing to do with the conventional methodology of chemical treatments, and that optimal results are achieved with proper training and advice," said the commercial director of Koppert, Juan Miguel Rodriguez, during the signing of the bilateral agreement.
The Director of Production and Development at Anecoop stressed that "the implementation of biological pest control will allow us to strengthen our commercial reputation, both among wholesale buyers and final consumers. This will be possible thanks to the positive values that are closely associated with biological control, including sustainability, compatibility with market requirements, the development of zero waste solutions to emerging pests and the promotion of biodiversity in production areas," said Angel del Pino.
For more information:
Koppert
www.koppert.es
Anecoop
www.anecoop.com