EU: Innovative and eco-efficient capsules to revolutionise pest control in potato crops

The EU-funded INBIOSOIL project has developed a new, eco-friendly method to control wireworm in potatoes that can be used in conventional and organic systems. The new method of pest control specifically uses special capsules called ATRACAP. They contain a strain of an entomopathogenic fungus that attacks specific pest insects and can reduce chemical pesticide use on European farms. The company BIOCARE, in Lower Saxony, Germany, has just established production of these capsules and in 2016 an area of about 300 hectares will be covered. ‘We are overwhelmed by inquiries from farmers willing to use the product on their fields, therefore the upscaling of production will continue,’ Prof. Dr. Stefan Vidal, INBIOSOIL Project Coordinator, said. ‘We expect ATRACAP to become a standard control strategy for both organic and conventional farmers,’ he added. More