Le jardin de Béa (Biot, France) 17/12/2013 by viridaxis Beatrice Simeon is vegetable grower at Biot in the region of Nice (France). She grows various vegetable spedies in integrated production on 2 ha under protection. The production is sold directly at the farm or via AMAP (Association for the maintenance of peasant agriculture). For the control of aphids, Ms. Simeon uses VerdaProtect on her tomatoes, zucchini, beans and melons. “I chose to use VerdaProtect because I refuse any use of pesticide, in order to respect the environment and the health of workers and consumers,” says Mrs. Simeon. She adds: “I was quickly convinced by the product. Introduced preventively, it offers a remarkable efficiency in the control of the various aphid species that I encounter on my farm. For its ease of use, VerdaProtect also makes
Biological crop protection against aphids in Blue Berries Hil & Moer. 16/12/2013 by viridaxis “We have been using biological control agents against aphids for several years now, but there were still some difficulties” explains Theo van Montfort of Blue Berries Hil & Moer. In the greenhouses where two different varieties of blueberries (Duke and Nui) are grown, we use as few chemicals as possible. This means that a reliable alternative was to be found. Crop protection with beneficial insects gives the possibility to reduce the amount of treatments with chemicals and still keep the various pests under control. After Theo van Montfort has tried different strategies for several years, he can finally say: “Since I use BerryProtect in my greenhouses and that I adopted a preventive strategy (Release of parasitoids before aphids appear), I found a really good alternative to chemical treatments against aphids”. This mix of five different species of wasps control the most commonly found aphids in blueberries and therefore, biological control is much easier for growers.
Meffre Plant: VerdaProtect for aphid control. 16/12/2013 by viridaxis The company “Meffre Plants”, in Monteux (Southern France), products plants for the vegetable sector for many years. Coming from a family of vegetable growers, they apply the most advanced techniques to meet the demands of their customers: the use of anti-insect nets, grafting, computer-aided management and the use of a mix of parasitoids against aphids. The company manages pests extremely carefully: “We produce plants for the conventional and for the organic sector and we must deliver plants responding to customers’ requirements” explains Thierry Meffre. “Used for many years in our greenhouses, the cocktail of parasitoids, VerdaProtect offers a good protection against the various aphids that can be observed on the farm. It easily fits into our strategy to fight against pests and its ease of use allows us to focus on other important issues.”
Marc Vissers, PCS (research station on ornementals), Belgium 09/12/2013 by viridaxis The PCS (Proefcentrum voor Sierteelt) is a research station dedicated to the cultivation of ornamental plants, located in Destelbergen (Belgium). For over 20 years, a large number of researches have been conducted in the area of crop protection, with both pesticides and biological control agents. For the prevention of pest resistance to various products, the use of beneficial insects has become an important part of a sustainable crop protection strategy. Marc Vissers, coordinator of indoor plants department routinely uses predatory mites against thrips, whiteflies and spidermites and OrnaProtect against aphids. Marc Vissers: “When trials are conducted with predatory mites or pesticides, you must try to spray as little as possible with other agents. Similarly, in our side effects trials with pesticides, where the impact of products on the predatory mites is tested, we cannot spray other products, which would mean the end of the trial. That is why we are very pleased with parasitoids of OrnaProtect. They are not a miracle solution to all the problems of aphids on all plant species, but allow good control of several species of aphids in several crops. On these crops, we no longer need to spray aphicide and predatory mites remain active. It is for these reasons that I recommend to ornamental growers using OrnaProtect, and not just to those who already use biological control but also to the others: they have only a limited number of active substances and as long as they do not need to spray chemicals, no resistance against these products develops. In this way, they can reserve a part of their insecticides interventions to pests more difficult to control as mealybugs, whiteflies or thrips.
Reducing residues in strawberries through novel crop protection methods 06/12/2013 by viridaxis HDC factsheet 13/13 (Project SF94: Defra Horticulture LINK HL0191) See the page on aphid control
Tuinbouw Relatiedagen Gorinchem 06/12/2013 by viridaxis VIRIDAXIS has its own booth at Tuinbouw Relatiedagen Gorinchem (The Netherlands), February 11, 12 and 13, 2014 http://www.evenementenhal.nl/gorinchem/beurzen/view/191/tuinbouw-relatiedagen
Present at the IPM in Essen 06/12/2013 by viridaxis VIRIDAXIS will be at the IPM Essen (January 28-31, 2014). Visit us at booth 3 A 10 http://www.ipm-essen.de/en/ipm_essen/index.html
Present at Sival in Angers 06/12/2013 by viridaxis VIRIDAXIS will be at Sival – Angers (January 14-16, 2014). Visit us at booth Ardesia B49 http://www.sival-angers.com
Biocontrol in softfruits. A HDC grower guide. 04/12/2013 by viridaxis See the pages of this guide devoted to aphid control.
IPDM addresses residue risks in strawberries 18/11/2013 by viridaxis East Malling Research sees FresaProtect as a valuable alternative to chemicals for aphid control Soft Fruit review 2012-2013
