Valérie Lenoir, red currants grower at Mondescourt (France) 02/01/2014 by viridaxis Valerie Lenoir produces soft fruits in Picardie (France) for the cooperative FRUIROSE, which are marketed by the company “Les fruits rouges de l’Aisne”. Since 2012, she specialized in the production of red and black currants. From the beginning, Ms. Lenoir has opted for an environmentally friendly production in which natural enemies are favored (e.g.: spontaneous vegetation between rows mowed once a year) and pesticides are only used as a last resort. For the control of aphids in her protected crops, she uses BerryProtect. “The mix of parasitoids brings me serenity. It is very easy to use and when installed early enough in the crop, it allows avoiding the use of insecticides, which is good from the point of view of the environment but also and especially for my health. Undoubtedly, BerryProtect will remain the basis of my aphid control strategy in the future. “
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.
Clock House Farm (Kent, UK) 08/11/2013 by viridaxis Clock House Farm in Maidstone specialises in the production of fruit (soft fruits, stone fruits and top fruits). It has been using FresaProtect in its strawberry crops, with excellent results. In Elsanta, control of the potato aphid has been spectacular. Production director James Dearing believes he has saved two to three sprays compared to previous strategies. In everbearer production (Amesti), FresaProtect even managed to keep aphids below the observation threshold. James affirms: “I am very pleased with the results of FresaProtect on the farm. Aphids were one of the pests for which we lacked a reliable biological solution, and the use of insecticides for aphids also affects the beneficial insects that control other pests. With FresaProtect, we can greatly reduce our insecticide use and maintain healthy populations of beneficials. We will certainly keep using FresaProtect on our strawberries.”
Béatrice Simeon (Biot, France) 07/11/2013 by viridaxis Beatrice Simeon produces strawberries (charlottes and other everbearers varieties) in the region of Nice (France). Because she is convinced of the environmental benefit and because there is a growing demand from consumers for healthier products, Ms. Simeon chose to work with an IPDM (integrated pest and disease management) strategy. “The use of beneficilas is obvious to me because I do not want to put any chemical pesticide on my crops and I did not find any alternative treatment. Against aphids, I use FresaProtect, the mix of parasitoids from Viridaxis. It is very simple to use and allows good control of various aphid species found on strawberries. “Mrs. Simeon concludes: “Since I use FresaProtect, aphids are no longer a concern and it is really appreciated.”
Langdon Manor Farm (Kent, UK) 04/11/2013 by viridaxis B R Brooks & Son at Langdon Manor Farm near Faversham in Kent, growing strawberries and raspberries. In the past, aphid resistance to certain chemicals has been observed around the farm. The owner, Mr. Alastair Brooks, needed a reliable alternative, so FresaProtect was trialed in strawberries. Mr. Andrew Reeve, production manager affirmed, “ We used FresaProtect in our June bearer sonata production and had very good encouraging results with this product. A heavy infestation of potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae) was controlled almost completely with lots of mummified aphids found in the crop. We are very impressed with the product and its ease of use even under fleece.
LWG Bamberg 04/11/2013 by viridaxis The unit for Vegetable Horticulture at the LWG Bamberg (Germany) applies biological plant protection in different strategies: (a) preventively in a conventional setting and (b) only biological in an organic context. The conventional vegetable growing has the possibility for a chemical curative correction, in case this should be necessary. The objective, however, is a pesticide-free strategy if possible. In this conventional strategy, VerdaProtect has been used preventively in three sets of cucumbers (Proloog, Greenfit/ Bornand, Bornand/Proloog). In the organic part, guidelines from ‘Naturland’, an Association for Organic Agriculture promoting organic agriculture, are applied. Chemical crop protection is strictly forbidden. In this setting, VerdaProtect has been used in tomatoes and beans. Peter Gäcklein, managing the vegetable crops within this research station, and the responsible engineer for the conventional trials, Martin Schulz, summarised: “During the entire crop cycle from January until mid-October, aphids have not been an issue at all. We could find some cotton aphids beginning of July in the organic part, but those have been controlled immediately. We will continue to use VerdaProtect in our greenhouses.”
Wichmann Farm 04/11/2013 by viridaxis The Wichmann farm in Bassum (Germany) grows in about 1,5 ha tunnels raspberries and some blackberries. Mister Nordmann, among other tasks responsible for crop protection, was looking for possibilities to control aphids in a natural way: “In the previous years, we were experiencing problems with aphids. This led to losses, especially during the harvest period. With BerryProtect, we had an excellent start in using beneficials. It was easy and efficient – the aphid were successfully controlled, and harvest interval was not a subject anymore.”
