• An unexpected solution: the story of Fernando Rodríguez and Koppert's predatory mites

  March 17, 2025

  cultivation in the region, instilled in him from the value of hard work, but also warned him about the challenges of the industry. Despite the difficulties [...] Growing up in the fields of San Quintín, Baja California, Fernando Rodríguez Borrego was immersed in the world of agriculture. His family, pioneers in strawberry [...] efficiently implement the use of these beneficial organisms. "The Koppert team helped me understand the life cycles of the predatory mites, the optimal times to

• Limonica: breakthrough in large-scale production of a complex predatory mite

  October 6, 2025

  production, they reviewed the entire process, from the type and quantity of feed to the composition of the rearing medium and the design of new production lines [...] deep-rooted expertise in the production of natural enemies, built up since its foundation in 1967. “Those years of experience form the basis of everything we do [...] investing in improvement and upscaling, and offers growers the certainty of an exclusive, reliable product.” Looking ahead: Limonica as the standard in integrated

• Navigating the Whitefly Battle

  March 6, 2024

  spraying it at the tops of the tomato heads, taking most of the adults out of the equation. The parasitoids will be working lower in the crop where the L3/L4 [...] feed directly from the plant tissue responsible for movement of photosynthates (the resulting product of photosynthesis) in the form of simple sugars such [...] growers deleafing practices. In high populations, it may also sting the mesophyll of the plant (the part of a leaf between the two thin surface layers),

• Bacterial canker of tomato

  with a brown centre. In potato, the disease usually only occurs in the second half of the season. The first symptoms are wilting of the lower leaves and [...] to eradicate the infection. In tomato, growers must either destroy the infected crop entirely or, if the crop is old, only the plants in the infected area [...] subsequent expansion of the wilt upwards. Cutting the stem at the foot shows whitish ooze with bacteria in the case of C lavibacter infection, but other

• Black leg of seedlings

  irreversibly. In potted plants the flower buds fall off. The side roots rot and very little of the root system survives. On the border between air and soil [...] soil or substrate the plant turns brown. A typical symptom of a Pythium infection is the easy stripping of the skin from the root cortex with a finger nail [...] at the start by using higher substrate blocks for the seedlings In field crops: Avoid the use of fields with inadequate drainage or improve the drainage

• Root rot of carrot

  at the generic level. Årsvoll was the first to identify and describe the fungus in Norway, in 1965. An infection can occur through the soil and the air [...] dark brown to black lesions of various shapes. The lesions can merge and eventually cover the entire surface of the carrot. The affected areas are firm, shallow [...] conditions may explain the concentration of this disease in the rather acidic soils (of southwestern Norway). Spore germination was inhibited in nonsterile soil

• Black rot of carrots

  rotation, in particular when spores surviving in the soil are the main source of infection. Especially wheat and barley reduce the number of surviving [...] cause primary infection of the leaves. Survival can be several years, in the case of black rot of carrots ( Alternaria radicina ) up to 8 years. Damage symptoms [...] lead to death of seedlings. From the primary infection of leaves, this type of carrot disease can spread to the flowers (especially dangerous in crops for

• Downy mildew of Cucurbits

  brown. On the underside of the leave fluffy growth appears which is first white and later turns grey-brown. This is actually the sporulation of the pathogens [...] around 15 o C and the closer the temperature is to this, the shorter the leaf wetness period that is required. Inside the plant, the pathogens produce [...] formed, structures in which zoospores are produced. However, in downy mildews, sporangia often germinate directly and the germ tubes infect the plants either

• Using Predatory Mites, but still having Thrips Issues? Close the Gap in your Thrips Control Program

  July 16, 2024

  combination of feeding (piercing the cells and sucking out the inner leaf, causing the characteristic silvering damage seen on leaves and disrupting the phot [...] After the larval stage, dependent on thrips species, thrips will either pupate in the soil or on the leaf. Most common thrips species, like the Western [...] (Thrips tabaci), or the European Flower Thrips (Frankliniella tritici) fall off the leaf, pupating where they land, which is usually in the soil. Adding a

• Maximize pollination in tomato

  grasp onto the flower and generate vibrations, aiding in the transfer of pollen. Within one to four hours, the bumblebee's jaw imprints on the flower, commonly [...] together. It is important to position the hives in such a way that the hive exits point in different directions, away from the crop. This arrangement allows for [...] into the world of bumblebee-assisted pollination and unlock the secrets to maximize your tomato harvest. Need our tips for hive placement? Download our