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Among the high-end biotechnological products manufactured by Bioera applicable to agriculture are those belonging to the Bioactivators line. These are the result of meticulous formulations carried out by the biotechnological company in which the products have the capacity to stimulate the physiological processes in the treated plants, allowing their recovery when faced with situations of stress, diseases and attacks by pests or parasitic microorganisms.
All products in this range are of natural origin, made from plant extracts of different nature without genetic manipulation. They mainly have a protective and reinforcing effect on sensitive plants, some at foliar level and others at root level, being able to activate the endogenous defense mechanisms of the treated plants. They are products with CAAE registration and 0 Residue.
The ‘Thrips and Aphid Damage Reduction Strategy’ is an enhancement of the Bioera Program in the applications and dosages of two formulations: ARBINS AND ACTONE.
In this case, the technical team of Bioera has developed a study in farms in Lepe and Almonte to achieve a Residue-Free Program to protect against two very frequent and harmful pests in strawberry crops: Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) and Aphids(Myzus persicae and Aphis gossypii). A response that Bioera offers as an alternative to the increase of resistance to phytosanitary chemical products, to the lack of authorized selective products, to the market demand for fruits with minimum residues and to the respect for the environment.
Thrips, like aphids, are sucking insects that feed on the developing plant tissues of plants. They usually hide in flowers, flower buds and growing points, and their activity occurs early in the day. The bites and sucking of adults and larvae cause damage that is aggravated by deformations in the meristems due to phytotoxic saliva, as well as being carriers of viruses. Their larval stage causes the most damage and the nymphs will later evolve into adults in the soil.
Flowers attacked by stings may abort in the worst case, and it is common for their styles to die and for the sepals to become stained. Fruit tissue necroses, causing malformations and poor or no quality for marketing.
The ‘Thrips and Aphid Damage Reduction Strategy’ is an improvement of the Bioera Program in the applications and doses of two formulations based on plant extracts and amino acids: ARBINS and ACTONE.
ARBINS is an emulsifiable concentrate that acts by provoking inappetence, promoting the plant’s own endogenous defenses and reinforcing plant cell walls.
ACTONE is an emulsion of plant extracts and amino acids that enhances the effects of ARBINS. The amino acids contained act as penetrating agents through the membranes and the plant extracts create repellency and confer a high molasses dissolving effect.
In the case of combined aphid and thrips pest, in plants treated on farms in Lepe, the aphid population was reduced (from the initial level 7 to level 2) and the thrips population was reduced to a medium threshold. In the latter case, even better results would be obtained if the initial doses were maintained in the repeat application – which reduced the population by half, from 6 to 3 – as was verified in the Almonte farm.
In the Almonte farms, the target pest was thrips, achieving a great improvement in the health status of the treated plants with only one repetition (at the same dose as the first application), while in the untreated plants the population rose to a high level.
The proven results of this program show a high reduction of damage by thrips, aphids and both pests combined.