‘Koppert’s side-effects app is incredibly useful for existing crop protection products and even more so for new products. The app is an all-in-one product that I use for both crop protection and pollination,’ states Milo Hoek, who has been using the app developed by Koppert for a few years now. He is the cultivation assistant responsible for crop protection at Dutch tomato-producing company Prominent Groeneweg II in 's-Gravenzande. ‘The app is really useful,’ he says. ‘I only have to fill in the name of the beneficial and the database then immediately shows me which crop protection products are harmful to that particular beneficial. At a certain point, you know all there is to know about existing crop protection products, but as soon as a new product comes onto the market, I always first consult the database.’
Persistence
It also works the other way around: a user can enter the name of a crop protection product, and the app will show which natural enemies are sensitive to that product. This allows the grower to select the best beneficial for each situation.The app also indicates the persistence of crop protection products. Persistence is the period, expressed in the number of weeks, in which a product or its residue remains harmful to a beneficial. The user can then determine how long to wait after spraying before releasing a beneficial.
Information about bumblebees
Milo also uses the app for pollinating with Natupol. The side-effects app shows the sensitivity of bumblebees to chemicals and indicates for how many days after spraying the bumblebees should not be released in the greenhouse. According to Milo, ‘This app is an all-in-one product that is quick, easy to use, and efficient, too.’
The side-effects app can be downloaded from the App Store for Apple products and from Google Play for Android.