The First Forum on Biological Control of Early Peppers was held in Dalías. The initiative was organized by Bioline Iberia in collaboration with the municipality's Town Council. The meeting served as a space for the dissemination and exchange of experiences on biological control in early pepper crops, and was attended by more than 100 professionals from the sector.
The head of Business Development and Strategic Marketing of Bioline Iberia, Rocío López, headed the conference and presented some of the main sustainable pest control innovations developed by the company. Gemini Duo, a single sachet that includes Starskii (A. swirskii) and Californiline (A. californicus), specially designed to control spider mites, stood out. This system provides double the protection in a single application.
Predafix is a soluble, sprayable food that improves the establishment of predatory mites in the crop. It is formulated with sterilized eggs of a prey mite, and when it is applied, they adhere to both sides of the leaf, which facilitates their distribution in such a way that the auxiliaries can feed on them for several weeks. It also saves labor, as producers can apply it with other products in the treatment mixture.
Another novelty is Staphyline, a cube system that releases specific predators to combat various species of thrips in the soil area. This product is a biofactory that makes it possible to generate exponential populations of Atheta coriaria, a new beetle that breaks the soil thrips pupae cycle, preventing the hatching of new generations.
Rocío López stressed the importance of adopting preventive measures to minimize the damage caused by these pests. She also said Dalías has been a pioneer in the use of auxiliary insects for more than two decades, and highlighted the importance of continuous training for technicians and farmers. "It is important that they know how to identify pests, how to combat them, and all the beneficial tools they have to carry out biological control because it is the only effective and sustainable tool to maintain our leading position in the production and export of pepper," she stated.
The mayor of Dalías, Francisco Lirola, expressed his support for this initiative, underlining his commitment to the local agricultural sector through institutional support measures on "investment issues, such as tax relief, and training, like this Bioline Iberia biological control forum."
The organization expressed its willingness to repeat the event on an annual basis, consolidating it as a benchmark for the dissemination of biological control in the West of Almería.
For more information:
Bioline Iberia
biolineagrosciences.com