How can natural enemies become even more effective?

Added on 06 June 2024

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How can natural enemies become even more effective?

Photo: WUR

Growers have been able to use natural enemies in the fight against pests for decades. But in some cases, these biological control agents are not effective, for example because the crop is not suitable for them. The Greenhouse Horticulture and Flower Bulbs Business Unit of Wageningen University & Research is investigating the opportunities of new biological control agents and new application techniques. Researcher Ada Leman: “Our goal? To ensure that chemical corrections are kept to a minimum.”

In some crops, greenhouse temperatures are too low for the successful deployment of natural enemies. In addition there are crops that themselves are not attractive to biological control agents. For example if there is a thin ‘wax layer’ on the leaves or stems of the crop, making them too slippery for existing natural enemies. Another possible obstacle is that the stems and leaves lack small hairs (trichomes or domatia): in that case, the crop is not attractive to natural enemies either.