Viridaxis was awarded the SIVAL d’OR 2013 gold medal for its VerdaProtect at the Salon des Productions Végétales fair (SIVAL), held in Angers from 15 to 17 January 2013. VerdaProtect is an innovative protection concept against aphids for greenhouse market garden crops, consisting of a mix of beneficial insects. The award comes at a time of changing plant protection practices, government pressure to reduce the use of pesticides and consumer demand for more environmentally friendly products. As Viola Rosemeyer, Viridaxis' Strategy and Sales Manager, explained, “These trends are encouraging producers to opt for integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, which combine different pest control methods - biological, physical and, as a last resort, chemical. The VerdaProtect solution is thus a very specific answer to their expectations.”
Building on natural mechanisms
The way VerdaProtect works is based on a simple natural mechanism, namely aphid parasitism by certain types of mini-wasps which are harmless to humans. The female wasps within the VerdaProtect mix lay their fertilized eggs right inside the aphids (one per aphid). The growing larva gradually kills its host and makes a cocoon inside in order to pupate. As Viola Rosemeyer explained, “After about ten days, an adult emerges from the dead aphid. That adult then sets off in search of more aphids to parasitize so that it can reproduce.” The spokeswoman went on, “The effectiveness of this solution lies in the prolificacy of the species in each tube of VerdaProtect. For example, one Aphidius colemani female can lay more than 150 eggs per day and up to 800 eggs throughout its adult life.” These beneficial insects are called parasitoids, that is to say, they parasitize the aphids, unlike ladybirds and lacewings, which use the aphids as a food source.A powerful partner for growers
VerdaProtect was designed specifically to meet the needs of growers. It consists of a mix of six parasitoid species to enable market gardeners to control the most common aphids in organic or integrated production: the cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii), the potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae), the green peach aphid and the tobacco aphid (Myzus persicae and Myzus nicotianae) and the foxglove aphid (Aulacorthum solani). VerdaProtect is very easy to use – it’s just a matter of placing the tube in the crop and opening it (1 per 200 m2). As Viola Rosemeyer says, “The tubes are ready to use, and no special training or precautions are necessary. The only things to bear in mind to guarantee their effectiveness is that they need to be put in place right at the beginning of the growing cycle, before the aphids appear, and that they should be renewed every two weeks. ”Proven effectiveness
After large-scale trials in Germany and the Netherlands, the VerdaProtect solution was also tested by a number of organic vegetable growers (unheated tunnels and glasshouses) in Nord-Pas-de-Calais (Northern France) in 2012. This trial, conducted in cooperation with Gabnor (the Nord-Pas-de-Calais organic farmers’ association) on young zucchini, sweet pepper, egg plant, cucumber and tomato plants, produced very good results. One organic market gardener from Louvil affirmed, “I am very pleased how effective VerdaProtect is. On egg plants in particular, I saw a difference compared with previous years when aphids caused a yield drop and forced me to wash the fruit. I was really impressed by this product, and it's so easy to use.”From academic research to integrated and biological crop protection
VerdaProtect's designer, Viridaxis, also markets similar solutions for other types of crop: FresaProtect for strawberries, BerryProtect for other soft fruits, BasilProtect for aromatic herbs and OrnaProtect for ornamental plants. These solutions are available throughout Europe from specialized beneficial and pollinating insect distributors.For more information:
Viridaxis S.A.
Rue Louis Blériot 11
B-6041 Gosselies
www.viridaxis.com
Email:
[email protected]