Anecoop teams up with Koppert to implement biological control 

There is a paradigm shift in the management of plant health thanks to new biological solutions that offer producers an effective means of controlling pests. This is also the case for the citrus and persimmon crops that the Anecoop cooperative group specialises in producing, leading it to collaborate with Koppert, a leading company in the production of beneficial organisms for the biological control of pests in agriculture.

This month, the two organisations entities met at the Anecoop headquarters in Valencia to sign a collaboration agreement that paves the way for the immediate implementation of demonstrative trials and subsequent dissemination so that biological pest control techniques become the main tool in the integrated management of crops.

Various field trials will be carried out on Anecoop farms to study the feasibility of new biological solutions that can become real alternatives to the use of certain chemical pesticides. The first investigations in the field will focus on evaluating new biological solutions against the long-tailed mealybug (Pseudococcus longispinus) in persimmon, as well as trials to demonstrate the effectiveness of biological control against the main citrus pests. The joint development of a biological control strategy in watermelon is also contemplated, both in the greenhouse and outdoors, adapted to the needs of the different production areas managed by the cooperatives associated with Anecoop.