“Attract-and-Kill” strategy (ATTRACT) for effective crop protection against soil pests

The larvae of various insect species (e.g. wireworms, western corn rootworms, black vine weevils) may cause significant yield losses in various field crops (potatoes, corn, strawberries). The management of these pests with soil insecticides is covered by rigorous restrictions or permitted only with special approval. The aim of the project was to develop a novel pest management strategy suitable both for conventional and organic farming.
The plant protection product is based on ingredients releasing CO2 as an attractant (“Attract”) and environmentally friendly active substances with insecticidal properties for larval killing (“Kill”). A precise strategy of luring and eliminating pests (“Attract-and-Kill”) is intended to keep insects away from their host plants. In this way, it is possible to minimise expenditures on plant protection products, while caring for the environment and the health of users and consumers. The performance of the newly developed plant protection product is scheduled to be evaluated in laboratory, greenhouse and field tests.

Project participants:
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Anant Patel
WG Fermentation and Formulation of Biologicals and Chemicals
FH Bielefeld

Prof. Dr. Stefan Vidal
Department of Crop Sciences
Division of Agricultural Entomology
Georg August University of Göttingen

Trifolio-M GmbH
represented by Dr. Hubertus Kleeberg and Dr. Edmund Hummel, Lahnau
35633 Lahnau

Project support:
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL)