Spanish market launch for new pest managmt product

Spanish market launch for new pest management product

15 May 2007

A new product which targets thrips, an important pest of greenhouse crops throughout the world, is being launched in Spain this week (15 May). The product is a result of a research collaboration between scientists at Crown Research Institute Crop & Food Research, and Plant Research International (part of Wageningen UR), the Netherlands.

The product is being marketed by the global biocontrol company, Koppert Biological Systems. After its successful introduction in Spain, other international markets will follow rapidly.

Crop & Food Research entomology research leader, Dr David Teulon, says the new patented product is an exciting development and represents the culmination of a number of years research.

“We have worked closely with scientists in the Netherlands to investigate ways to manage this pest which can cause substantial damage in greenhouse crops such as capsicum and aubergine.

“This result represents a true collaboration between northern and southern hemisphere scientists, where science conducted in both countries has contributed to getting the product to market.”

Dr Teulon says the Spanish greenhouse industry, with some 30,000 ha, rivals the Netherlands industry in size. Vegetables grown in Spanish greenhouses are supplied to European supermarkets.

The product is a lure which includes a chemical which attracts male and female thrips. It has been proven to work in greenhouses for western flower thrips and onion thrips in both vegetable crops and ornamental crops. It is superior to other products of its type on the market in that it traps these two important thrips pest species and appears to be significantly more effective in attracting thrips.

Future research in this field will include how the attractant can be used in integrated pest management systems for vegetable crops. Some 3000 lures are being brought into New Zealand for commercial evaluation with local growers this summer.

The research was co-funded by the New Zealand government through the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology and the LNV (the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) research programme for Plant Health.

ENDS

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