Susanne Früh, crop advisor at “Obstgroßmarkt Mittelbaden” (Germany) 16/04/2014 by viridaxis Susanne Früh, crop advisor at the producers’ association “Obstgroβmarkt Mittelbaden” in Oberkirch (Germany), grows raspberries and blackberries for variety tests in tunnels. Pests are controlled with as less pesticides as possible. The application of pesticides in the tight vegetation being very difficult, Mrs Früh chooses to use beneficial insects, as they can find and fight the pests even in these dense berry crops. Particularly aphid control has been a major problem in raspberries and blackberries in tunnels. Since BerryProtect is available, Mrs Früh uses this parasitoid mix with good results: ”It is a very well thought concept – from the composition of the different parasitoid species for controlling all aphids in berry crops to the design of the tubes for easy application. And I am glad that I participated with my comments in the development of the release stations: the entire system is really optimal and – most important – user friendly.”
Biohof Bursch (Bornheim, Germany) 16/04/2014 by viridaxis Biohof Bursch (Bornheim, Germany) grows 60 different varieties of fruit and vegetable on 45 hectares. The family business with 35 employees is member at Demeter, and organic farming has been implemented already in the early 60s. This know-how of more than 50 years is also applied in aphid control, especially in vegetable crops grown in tunnels. Orjan, responsible for the protected crops since many years, uses since several seasons VerdaProtect: ”Since this mix of parasitoids is available, aphid control has become so much easier. Before, it has been extremely difficult to avoid yield losses due to aphids – especially in cucumber. VerdaProtect gives excellent results, the application is easy and fast – in summary, I can only recommend using it.”
Johannes Dick, Bornheim (Germany) 01/04/2014 by viridaxis Johannes Dick in Bornheim (Germany) produces pot herbs. The company has been using BasilProtect for a number of years, to control aphids in various greenhouse crops such as parsley, basil, mint and sage. Crop manager Andreas Birkheuser draws his conclusions: “Using this mix of six different aphid parasitoids facilitates aphid control immensely. It is quick and easy to apply, and the broad host range gives us huge security – without the need to identify aphids. Because pest control in herb growing is based on the use of beneficials as far as possible, BasilProtect is the perfect solution that offers us efficient aphid control with minimal time investment.”
