Question 1

Why use biological crop protection?

Accepted Answer

Growers around the world are applying large-scale biological crop protection. As a result, the use of insecticides in horticulture has declined significantly, while growers enjoy larger and higher-quality crop yields. Products grown with the help of biological crop protection are healthy and safe for both consumers and the environment. Supermarkets that sell vegetables and flowers consider aspects such as sustainability and environmentally-friendliness to be very important.

Question 2

Where can I buy your products?

Accepted Answer

We refer private buyers to Entocare. They have an online store with various biological beneficials available in smaller consumer packaging for private buyers and avid amateur gardeners.
Professional growers can contact one of the Koppert distributors.

Question 3

How do I know whether the fruits and vegetables in the supermarket were grown sustainably using biological crop protection?

Accepted Answer

While more and more growers are using natural enemies to combat pests and diseases instead of chemical agents, this is not visible on the products themselves. Ask your supermarket and encourage them to adopt more sustainable practices.
If you buy a product labeled 'organic', you can rest assured that no chemical crop protection methods were used.

Question 4

I bought a plant with a Koppert card/sachet from in it. What do I do with it?

Accepted Answer

The card/sachet in the plant means that natural enemies were used to combat pests. This is a good sign and means you bought a sustainable plant! You can leave the card/sachet in the plant. It may still contain some natural enemies, which will continue to combat pests on the plant. Don't worry about these insects: they are only interested in pests and will die out when the pests have been eliminated.

Question 5

Why use natural pollination?

Accepted Answer

Using bumblebees saves growers a lot of time and manual labor. The crops would otherwise have to be pollinated by hand. It also became clear that natural pollination by bumblebees yielded better results. It improved fertilization, enhanced the quality of fruit, and generated higher yields.
Koppert produces different types of bumblebees in different countries, depending on local legislation. These bumblebees are no longer produced for tomato crops only; growers of more than 120 different types of crops purchase our hives and bumblebees. Billions of bumblebees have since been produced. With the natural population of honeybees and other pollinating insects under threat, this production is more important than ever before.

Question 6

What is the difference between bumblebees and honeybees?

Accepted Answer

Bumblebees use buzz pollination, which is essential for tomatoes and beneficial for blueberries. Bumblebees also work well alongside honeybees.
The main differences are:
 	bumblebees are larger and hairier than bees 	bumblebees do not produce honey 	bumblebees live in smaller colonies (hundreds instead of tens of thousands) 	a bumblebee colony does not hibernate, only the queens hibernate

Question 7

Why do you provide bumblebees and not honeybees?

Accepted Answer

Bumblebees are diligent workers. A single bumblebee can pollinate roughly 150 kilograms of tomatoes, visit a thousand flowers, and work eighteen hours a day. A bumblebee can travel up to ten kilometres away from its hive and collect and transport sixty per cent of its own bodyweight in pollen. And bumblebees don't let a bit of bad weather slow them down – they continue to work in cold, windy weather as well. That explains why bumblebees are used alongside honeybees, who prefer to stay in the hive in bad weather. Koppert’s bumblebees are also extremely healthy. Independent institutes assess their quality and health, and Koppert carries out its own strict inspections.

Question 8

How do I order a bumblebee colony?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, consumers cannot order bumblebee colonies.

Question 9

I was stung by a bumblebee. What should I do?

Accepted Answer

This information on bumblebee stings provides guidance for reducing the chance of being stung by a bumblebee and about the possible reaction to a sting and treatment.

Question 10

How do microorganisms work?

Accepted Answer

The process may differ, but the biological fungicide Trianum is an excellent example. Trianum is based on the fungus Trichoderma harzianum. Spores of the T-22 strain colonize a plant's root system and keep pathogens at bay.

Consumers

Biological crop protection

Natural pollination