Dirk Aerts, Biobest’s sales manager for North & West Europe and Oceania: “While in the past we shared a booth with distributors in Germany, this was the second year in a row for Biobest to participate with a booth of our own. Interest in biological control in ornamentals continues to grow. Many visitors stopped by to learn more about our products and services. We prominently displayed our Makita-based dispenser device, used to apply Nutrimite but also to apply predatory mites in the crop. That captured the attention of a lot of growers.”
The Makita wasn’t there without a reason. Biobest’s booth put the spotlight on the application of Nutrimite as a food supplement for predatory mites. “Our novel predatory mite Dyna-Mite G-System (based on the species Euseius gallicus) has recently been allowed for sale in Germany,” explains Dirk. “In combination with Nutrimite treatment it builds up a strong army of beneficials before the pest arrives. That opens great opportunities for growers of roses and certain other ornamental species. Hence the right moment to put the Dyna-Mite G-System in the picture. But also certain other predatory mites, in particular Amblyseius swirskii or Iphiseius degenerans respond very favourably to Nutrimite application. In many crops, these predatory mites in combination with Nutrimite are the foundation for a successful integrated pest management strategy to control pests like whitefly and trips.”
According to Dirk, ornamental growers in Germany (and neighbouring countries like the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria) are getting more and more familiar with the use of Nutrimite as a means to build up large populations of beneficials in their crops. Dirk: “Growers have been very much encouraged also by field trials done by an independent institution in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which showed very positive results.”
Apart from presenting its products and services to possible clients, the Biobest team also enjoyed the opportunity to network with several of its distributors in Europe. “In Essen we met distributors from Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany and even Latvia,” says Dirk.
For more information
Biobest Belgium NV
Ilse Velden 18
2260 Westerlo - Belgium
T +32 14 25 79 80
F +32 14 25 79 82