Monday, 25 October 2021
Applied Knowledge | Cera-Trap® | Suzukii Trap® / Dacus Trap®
Chemical pesticides are falling out of favour with consumers and regulators alike. There’s never been a clearer need to maintain plants and crop health in a way that’s sustainable and keeps the balance of the farm ecosystem in check.
That’s where biocontrol comes in. A natural solution, biocontrol is an alternative to chemical pesticides that’s gaining traction year on year – by 2025, it’s estimated that the market will be worth $10 billion. But what’s fuelling this growth and why should companies targeting the agricultural, food and related industries take note?
Saturday, 15 June 2019
Field Experience | Fields | Applied Knowledge | Cera-Trap®
Mass trapping arose in Spain in the 90s as an effective alternative to the extensive application of insecticides which until then had been taken as the only affordable strategy to control fruit flies. Aerial or localised insecticide dusting programmes ended up unbalancing agricultural systems, harming useful fauna, and implies risks for the health of the applier and the end consumer. The use of liquid food lures like Cera Trap® has two added advantages. Liquid lures do not need to use any insecticide substance in their formulation or use. Since they work by emitting volatile protein compounds they tend to mostly attract females (reproductive agent and responsible for damage to the fruit) unlike sexual pheromone compounds which mostly attract males. In comparison to a programme of reiterated insecticide treatments, the strategy of mass trapping with Cera Trap® can significantly reduce the infestation on the plant as well as damage to fruit to an even lower level than the standard insecticide programme (e.g. synthetic pyrethrins) with the extra advantage of reducing chemical waste, the creation of resistance, and the economic and environmental cost of managing insecticide active substances as well. Recently, the mass trapping system has slowly been replacing programmes of recurring insecticide applications, turning into a complementary tool within integrated pest management (IPM) and offering an effective and economically viable option for the optimal control of fruit flies.