THE TESTS HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT IN ALMERÍA.

for several days, The Koppert firm has opened its doors to show technicians and professionals from the agricultural sector in the province of Almería the positive results of a new strategy to control Tuta ABSOLUTA and whiteflies..

The tests have been carried out in the new R&D greenhouse that this company has in Vícar and in other private farms in the area.. The predator nesidiocoris is one of the tools most used by farmers who want to combat Tuta using integrated control techniques..

To date, the problem has been that this auxiliary insect has needed too much time to settle and reproduce its population in sufficient numbers to counteract the presence of Tuta..

The strategy devised by Koppert is based on advancing the release of the nesidiocoris by several weeks so that they can install themselves more effectively..

Koppert technicians have carried out releases on tomato plants in the seedbed five days before transplanting and also at the same time of sowing on the farmer's farm.. In this way, the sole is several weeks ahead of what had been done so far..

The results are being effective in a percentage that is between 95-98 percent. In addition to fighting the Tuta, The trial has studied what happens with the whitefly. In this sense, nesidiocoris can control the two blights if they arise in the crop, since it has the same preference for the Tuta as for the whitefly.

The head of Coexphal's pest control department was also present during the visit., Jan van der Blom, who warned of the danger posed by an excessive overpopulation of nesidiocoris without there being a sufficient pest on which it can feed.. And is that, if this predator does not have any pests to eat, can attack the plant itself.

The solution to this problem was proposed by Koppert's technical manager., Antonio Gimenez, explaining that in these cases compatible phytosanitary products are used to reduce the population of nesidiocoris that, later, will increase again.

In any case, This problem could only occur in the first stages of growth of the tomato plant..