New Pheromone-Based Approach to Control the Marbled Tree Bug in Fruit and Vegetable Farming
Researchers at the Julius Kühn Institute are focusing on pheromones and pyrethrum extract—which are also suitable for organic farming
The marbled tree bug has been causing significant damage to fruit and vegetable crops for several years. In the “BIOBUG” project, which was funded by the Federal Program for Organic Farming (BÖL), researchers have developed a promising approach using scents that could significantly reduce infestations in the future. Since the substances used are based on natural compounds, the method is particularly relevant for organic farming.
The control strategy is based on a so-called “push-and-pull” and “attract-and-kill” system. In this system, the pests are first driven out of the fruit or vegetable crop using special scents, lured to a specific bait site, and killed there with a natural pyrethrum extract. The pheromones are released into the crop via special capsules.
The research team from the Julius Kühn Institute in Dossenheim, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, and Biocare Biologische Schutzmittel GmbH has identified effective substances for all three steps. One challenge, however, is that the insects respond only to certain concentrations of the pheromones. If these concentrations are too high or too low, the desired effect is not achieved. The natural pyrethrum extract used, in combination with an oil and sugar solution, has proven to be very effective at killing the insects. This formulation is used to fill capsules that are punctured by the bugs. The contact poison thus acts selectively on the pest insects while sparing beneficial insects.
The optimal fragrance concentrations, the capsule shell, and the pyrethrum formulation contained within still need to be optimized in further steps. Overall, however, the research team considers the prototypes developed so far to be a promising foundation for a scent-based plant protection strategy against this pest.
Background on “BIOBUG” The four-year project “Biotechnological Control of the Invasive Marbled Tree Bug Halyomorpha halys in Organic Fruit and Vegetable Production Using a Push-Pull-Kill Method Based on Aggregation Pheromones Combined with Kairomones (BIOBUG)” was carried out by researchers from the Julius Kühn Institute in Dossenheim, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, and the company Biocare Biologische Schutzmittel GmbH. Funding was provided by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Home Affairs (BMLEH) through the Federal Program for Organic Farming (BÖL).
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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