• Spidex Vital lives up to its promises

  crop is always cleared away, I start from scratch each time and have to build up the necessary populations three times. This is always a critical and tense [...] expected of it. A week after the first deliveries were released, he had a closer look at the crop. ‘It was clear that the predatory mites were distributed throughout [...] calm to the farm.’ He states that the weather conditions have been favourable up to now. But, he says, the summer is yet to come. ‘Later on in the season,

• Leaf stripe

  can infect seeds at any stage up until soft dough stage. Infection occurs between 10 and 33 °C. Infected seeds can look healthy and do not necessarily [...] leads to the death of the leaf. The leaf splits at the end which makes it look shredded. This is typical for this disease. Infected plants may be stunted [...] may be distorted and failing to emerge from the sheath. Ear length and the number of kernels may be reduced and kernels may be brown. The symptoms do not

• How a little predatory mite laid the foundation for biocontrol today

  June 11, 2024

  what he was looking for - the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis .’ Back home, he introduced it into his own greenhouse where, after a number of hurdles [...] hurdles, the predatory mite began to show promise. ‘My father had given up on chemical agents as their effect had diminished. He was very persistent when it [...] father began to show some success. Jan Koppert led the way ‘The company was set up by my father and my brother Peter in 1967 when they decided to commercialize

• Koppert and CABI collaborate on making more biological controls available

  October 8, 2018

  Kenya in March this year in which CABI and the Koppert Foundation stepped up their efforts to combat pests which threaten the food security and livelihoods [...] alongside Koppert to help solve problems in agriculture and the environment. ‘We look forward to continuous research into existing and new innovative non-chemical [...] strong presence in Africa and Koppert Kenya and CABI are collaborating in a number of areas in East and West Africa. Validating each other’s data and promoting

• Getting a head start - The importance of scouting in winter

  January 31, 2025

  important principle to scout for diseases is to understand what a healthy plant looks like. This is specifically key to identifying seedling diseases. Plants [...] communicate in colour and growth, so when scouting for seedling diseases look for yellowing, wilted, stunted, or dead plants. In general, certain weather [...] below ground can cause thin or irregular stands and poor germination. Digging up seeds or seedlings is important to determine if an insect pest is present

• Boisduval scale

  centre of the scale called the exuvium. Adult females can produce up to 200 eggs and live up to seven months. Eggs hatch within five to seven days under the [...] the scale and become crawlers. The crawlers move out to look for a suitable place to feed and become sessile usually after a few hours The development from

• Potato

  t food crop in the world, after maize, wheat and rice. Potato plants grow up to some 60 cm tall. Its leaves die after flowering, fruiting and the development [...] stamens. After the flowering phase, the plants grow small, green fruits which look like cherry tomatoes and contain about 300 seeds each.

• Hemp russet mite

  smaller leaf size and suppressed bud growth leading to a reduction in the number of buds and dwarfed buds. This damage can reduce yield and quality. Other [...] 0.05 mm in diameter and adults are around 0.2 mm long. Nymphs and adults look very similar.

• Transforming crop protection: the rise of predatory mites

  September 8, 2025

  joined a government lab with the Junta de Andalucía. But when Koppert came looking for a research director, he saw an opportunity that aligned perfectly with [...] growers - and it triggered a real shift in mentality in Almeria.” Scaling up: strawberries, citrus, and beyond From greenhouses to open fields, the success [...] adapted formats too, like Ulti-Mite sachets, to withstand heat and humidity.” Looking ahead: predatory mites in outdoor crops and global impact Today, the demand

• Cottony cushion scale

  shrubs and trees. Damage is mostly caused by sap depletion; the shoots dry up and die, and defoliation occurs. In addition, the copious quantities of honeydew [...] cushion scale As with all scale insects, the females do not have wings and look similar to the immature stages. Immature cottony cushion scales have black [...] yellow wax. The adult ‘females’ are easily recognized by their large size (up to 10 mm long), red-brown body colour and covering of granular, white wax