Structure
Owing to the different climatic and methodological conditions in the North and the South, the “Integrated Control in Glasshouses” group, one of the oldest in the IOBC’s history, has been divided into two working groups, based on temperate and mediterranean climates respectively. The group comprises approximately 80 active scientists.
Activities
The group designs commercially applicable IPM programmes based on biological control of pests and diseases in combination with host-plant resistance and other non-chemical control methods. It initiates, coordinates, and evaluates fundamental and applied research for the development of biological and integrated control programmes. It develops scientific criteria for the selection of natural enemies, assists in the development of mass production methods for natural enemies, and devises quality control methods for natural enemies.
Achievements
The group has realised large-scale practical use of biological control through intensive advisory and public relations work. Commercial producers of biological control agents have cooperated with the working group since its initiation. 50 species of natural enemies are commercially available for control of 25 pest species. The greenhouse area on which biological control is used has increased to 50% of the current potential area for biological control. Around 20 new species of natural enemies are in the process of being evaluated for future use.
For updates on WG activities:
The WG has formed a discussion group in LinkedIn under the name IOBC goodbugs. Please join the Discussion group via www.linkedin.com.
The WG old website will be closed down after 2014 and it is not updated regularly any more. It can still be accessed at https://portal.mtt.fi/portal/page/portal/iobc. The old GoodBugs mailing list will stop functioning at the same time.
The results of the working group’s activities are published in IOBC publications:
Keywords
protected crops, IPM, biological control, natural enemies, mass production, quality control methods
Aim
The general goal is to promote the research, development, implementation, and training of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems in protected crops, as well as promoting cooperation between scientists, advisors and producers working in this field.