Aphids have been one of the biggest pests in peppers in recent years. This year, pepper grower Noordland Paprika started a trial to preventively release aphids (grain aphids) in the greenhouse using grain pollen.
"These are a different type of lice than the peach aphid that are active in the pepper crop, so harmless. However, they do serve as 'hosts' (food) for our natural controllers: the parasitic wasps," explains on LinkedIn. "As a result, we build up a good population of natural controllers (parasitic wasps) in advance, which can take credit, should it be necessary against the peach aphid."
Banker plant for grain aphid at Noorland Paprika
Preventive aphid release has been tested in recent years in the Year-round Biological Control project of the innovation programme The New Doing in Plant Health.