Biological control in soft fruit

Littywood Farm, Stafford
United Kingdom

- Gabriel Slabbert – Littywood Farm  -
"No thrips and less chemicals with the UniMite Soft Fruit."
Littywood Farm is a family-run business. They grow soft fruit in tunnels on 86 acres: 45 acres of cherries in the soil, 24 acres of strawberries on substrate and 17 acres of raspberries on substrate. Seventeen years ago they started biological control through bees. They didn't want any more insecticides on their strawberries. They want to control pests and diseases biologically as much as possible. In this they have made many great strides in recent years.

Biological control

At Littywood they have a robust integrated pest management plan with a focus on biological control. They use Agrobío bumblebees to pollinate flowers and natural predators to tackle thrips. Thrips is their biggest challenge in strawberries because they cause serious damage in terms of bronzing and making the fruit unmarketable. They have been working with Royal Brinkman for many years especially when it comes to pollination by bumblebees. The AgroBio bumblebees are in all of their cherry, raspberry and strawberry crops. The bumblebees pollinate the flowers, even in early spring when it is still cold and damp. Fighting pests with insecticides is no longer a solution for Gabriel. As a company, they opt for a biological route. In doing so, they choose to grow in a more sustainable way. For biological control, Littywood Farm has had a good working relationship with Royal Brinkman and its advisers for years. 

Biological control in strawberry
"Thrips is our biggest challenge.”
​​​​- Production and Harvest Manager soft fruit Gabriel Slabbert, Stafford, United Kingdom -​​​​
Walking the crop
Becky Durkin of Royal Brinkman advises Littywood Farm on biological crop protection. Becky visits them every two weeks throughout the season, where they closely monitor how the predators establish in combination with the pest pressure. It’s particularly important to stay on top of things, as sometimes pressure suddenly go up and you have to react quickly. Gabriel and Becky discuss the action plan every two weeks, more regularly if required. They discuss the pests and diseases seen and how to deal best with them. 

At Littywood Farm, they use two types of natural predators for the biological control of thrips, predatory mites and insects. They start with the predatory mite Cucumeris, a natural predator against thrips. This tiny predatory mite is used preventively and feeds on the eggs and first instar. They also use the predatory insect Orius Cold. Orius is effective on both larvea and adult thrips. Orius comes in 2 types, standard Orius and Orius Cold which is especially active at lower temperatures, therefore it's very useful for the early tunnels at Littywood Farm.

"You have to react quickly.”
​​​​- Crop protection specialist, Becky Durkin, Royal Brinkman UK -​​​​
Walking the crop together to monitor.

Labour saving 

''For thrips control, we use a preventive schedule of Cucumeris supplemented with Orius, both Agrobío products. This is 25 mites per plant every 2 weeks. Cucumeris is applied by the Unimite Soft fruit. This bio-applicator scatters the cucumeris evenly over the strawberry crop, exactly above the crop rows. The bio-applicator is attached to the front of a tractor, allowing us to drive in and out of the tunnels quickly and easily. The labour saving is great, in one run we can apply the Cucumeris to all 6 rows in the tunnel at the same time'', says Gabriel Slabbert.

"Labour saving with UniMite Soft Fruit.”
- Gabriel Slabbert – Littywood Farm -​​​​
Greenhouse
In one run they apply the Cucumeris to all 6 rows in the tunnel at the same time.
Nozzle
Cucumeris is applied by the Unimite Soft fruit exactly above the crop rows.
Agrobio
Orius Cold is applied manually, when the conditions are right.

High quality biological control

Gabriel: ''We start applying the biological controls right at the beginning of the season, which is usually mid april. This way the biological controls will be established before thrips become an issue. Cucumeris can be applied preventively whereas Orius Cold we apply manually, when the conditions are right. Orios Cold stands out for its large size, huge voracity and resistance to cold situations, this makes it ideal for winter and spring releases. The quality of biological control is very important. It has to be fresh when delivered. We always receive the deliveries from Royal Brinkman very early in the morning, so we can release them into the crop the same day.''
agrobio
Thrips under control 
The biological approach to thrips control is working very well at Littywood Farms. Gabriel: ''We had thrips under control last year with minimal damage. Together with Royal Brinkman, we have taken huge steps forward and in recent years we have improved together. We are now putting even more effort into biological control and want to take it to the next level. We are happy working with royal brinkman to further improve biological crop protection in the soft fruit industry and appreciate that companies like Royal Brinkman and AgroBio constantly working on this.'' 

''We had thrips under control last year with minimal damage.''
- Gabriel Slabbert – Littywood Farm -​​​​
  
  
Littywood Farm chooses Cucumeris and Orios Cold in its control of thrips and bumblebees to pollinate flowers.
Do you have a question?
Do not hesitate to ask your questions to our specialist using the form. We will respond to your question as soon as possible.
Also interesting for you

Biological control in soft fruit

Littywood Farm, Stafford
United Kingdom

- Gabriel Slabbert – Littywood Farm  -
"No thrips and less chemicals with the UniMite Soft Fruit."
Littywood Farm is a family-run business. They grow soft fruit in tunnels on 86 acres: 45 acres of cherries in the soil, 24 acres of strawberries on substrate and 17 acres of raspberries on substrate. Seventeen years ago they started biological control through bees. They didn't want any more insecticides on their strawberries. They want to control pests and diseases biologically as much as possible. In this they have made many great strides in recent years.

Biological control in strawberry

Biological control

At Littywood they have a robust integrated pest management plan with a focus on biological control. They use Agrobío bumblebees to pollinate flowers and natural predators to tackle thrips. Thrips is their biggest challenge in strawberries because they cause serious damage in terms of bronzing and making the fruit unmarketable. They have been working with Royal Brinkman for many years especially when it comes to pollination by bumblebees. The AgroBío bumblebees are in all of their cherry, raspberry and strawberry crops. The bumblebees pollinate the flowers, even in early spring when it is still cold and damp. Fighting pests with insecticides is no longer a solution for Gabriel. As a company, they opt for a biological route. In doing so, they choose to grow in a more sustainable way. For biological control, Littywood Farm has had a good working relationship with Royal Brinkman and its advisers for years. 

"Thrips is our biggest challenge.”
​​​​- Production and Harvest Manager soft fruit Gabriel Slabbert, Stafford, United Kingdom -​​​​
Walking the crop
Becky Durkin of Royal Brinkman advises Littywood Farm on biological crop protection. Becky visits them every two weeks throughout the season, where they closely monitor how the predators establish in combination with the pest pressure. It’s particularly important to stay on top of things, as sometimes pressure suddenly go up and you have to react quickly. Gabriel and Becky discuss the action plan every two weeks, more regularly if required. They discuss the pests and diseases seen and how to deal best with them. 

At Littywood Farm, they use two types of natural predators for the biological control of thrips, predatory mites and insects. They start with the predatory mite Cucumeris, a natural predator against thrips. This tiny predatory mite is used preventively and feeds on the eggs and first instar. They also use the predatory insect Orius Cold. Orius is effective on both larvea and adult thrips. Orius comes in 2 types, standard Orius and Orius Cold which is especially active at lower temperatures, therefore it's very useful for the early tunnels at Littywood Farm.

"You have to react quickly.”
​​​​- Crop protection specialist, Becky Durkin, Royal Brinkman UK -​​​​
Walking the crop together to monitor.

Labour saving 

''For thrips control, we use a preventive schedule of Cucumeris supplemented with Orius, both Agrobío products. This is 25 mites per plant every 2 weeks. Cucumeris is applied by the Unimite Soft fruit. This bio-applicator scatters the cucumeris evenly over the strawberry crop, exactly above the crop rows. The bio-applicator is attached to the front of a tractor, allowing us to drive in and out of the tunnels quickly and easily. The labour saving is great, in one run we can apply the Cucumeris to all 6 rows in the tunnel at the same time'', says Gabriel Slabbert.

"Labor saving with UniMite Soft Fruit.”
- Gabriel Slabbert – Littywood Farm -​​​​
Greenhouse
In one run they apply the Cucumeris to all 6 rows in the tunnel at the same time.
Greenhouse Machine
Cucumeris is applied by the Unimite Soft fruit exactly above the crop rows.
Agrobio and Royal Brinkman
Orius Cold is applied manually, when the conditions are right.

High quality biological control

Gabriel: ''We start applying the biological controls right at the beginning of the season, which is usually mid april. This way the biological controls will be established before thrips become an issue. Cucumeris can be applied preventively whereas Orius Cold we apply manually, when the conditions are right. Orios Cold stands out for its large size, huge voracity and resistance to cold situations, this makes it ideal for winter and spring releases. The quality of biological control is very important. It has to be fresh when delivered. We always receive the deliveries from Royal Brinkman very early in the morning, so we can release them into the crop the same day.''
agrobio
Thrips under control 
The biological approach to thrips control is working very well at Littywood Farms. Gabriel: ''We had thrips under control last year with minimal damage. Together with Royal Brinkman, we have taken huge steps forward and in recent years we have improved together. We are now putting even more effort into biological control and want to take it to the next level. We are happy working with royal brinkman to further improve biological crop protection in the soft fruit industry and appreciate that companies like Royal Brinkman and AgroBio constantly working on this.'' 

''We had thrips under control last year with minimal damage.''
- Gabriel Slabbert – Littywood Farm -​​​​
Littywood Farm chooses Cucumeris and Orios Cold in its control of thrips and bumblebees to pollinate flowers.
Do you have a question?
Do not hesitate to ask your questions to our specialist using the form. We will respond to your question as soon as possible.
Becky
Also interesting for you
"Get through the winter in an organic way, with Orius."
Read more about the experience of David van Tuijl of Linflowers, based in The Netherlands, about Orius.  
"After only two weeks, we saw nymphs running.”
Read more about the experience of Bertus van Dijk of Bestpeppers and grower Kees van Tuyl about Orius. 
How does pollination in greenhouses with bumblebees work?
Pollination by bumblebees is less labour-intensive and cheaper. Learn more in this article.