INIA researchers highlighted in Chillán use of entomopathogenic nematodes in pest control in fruit trees
Of great interest was a project completion seminar prepared by the INIA Agricultural Research Institute, through the INIA Quilamapu Regional Center, which generated different formulations to optimally and efficiently apply nematodes in small fruit orchards under the attack of native pests. .
The entomopathogenic nematodes are microscopic worms used in the control of pests in smaller fruit trees.
There is no doubt that the use of alternatives to the chemical control of agricultural pests, rather than a tendency, marks an irreversible path in the future of productive agriculture, especially in fruit orchards.
In this sense, the 80 producers and agricultural professionals attending the seminar "Fermentation and formulations of native entomopathogenic nematodes for the biological control of pests of agricultural importance", could appreciate the important work that the INIA Quilamapu has been doing for more than two decades. Biological Control of pests.
Andrés France, researcher and phytopathologist at INIA Quilamapu indicated that the great objective of the work carried out in the last two years was to produce nematodes in a cheaper way than what is currently used, which is characterized by being very slow and limited in the generation of volumes.
Andrés France, researcher at INIA Quilamapu in charge of the Fondef project of Entomopathogenic Nematodes.
France explained that the current generation of these microscopic organisms is associated with more than productive research methodologies, since it is carried out through the breeding of an insect that in turn serves as a culture for nematodes. He added that this process requires skilled labor that supervises the breeding of both the insect and the nematodes, and a period of work that extends for more than a month and a half.
Formulated entomopathogenic nematodes
Formulation of Nematodes
entomopathogens as gel.
The project resulted in the development of cheaper alternatives and that went through the development of fermentors. The researcher from INIA Quilamapu clarified that a fermentor is a container with a liquid medium where organisms multiply. "During the two years that the project lasted we looked for a recipe and a production system that would be optimal for the generation of entomopathogenic nematodes".
France said that "we managed to produce a range of 80 thousand to 90 thousand nematodes per milliliter, which is equivalent to a drop of this liquid medium or solution and what we generate in each insect in the traditional system" He added that this productive effectiveness is considerable, since "Work was carried out only experimentally in a 5-liter fermenter, with 100, 500, or XNUMX-liter fermenters being able to be used and with production times of less than a week, so now very considerable amounts of nematodes can be produced.”
Use of native entomopathogenic nematodes
Larva attacked by nematodes
entomopathogens
Andrés France, who was the director of the Fondef project that concludes, indicated that the nematodes with which he has been working correspond to two native species: Steinernema australe native to Magdalena Island in the Strait of Magellan, and Steinernema unicornium discovered in Tierra del Fuego, both the result of a research project carried out some years ago together with the English research organization, CABI. The researcher from INIA clarified that the production of each species of nematode has its own "recipe" so it is not feasible to carry out a simultaneous production of both species.
One of the great challenges of the researchers was to keep the nematodes in time, guaranteeing viability and vigor of these microorganisms. To this end, we worked on the generation of different types of formulations, achieving the obtention of dragees, gels, pellets, solids and liquids of entomopathogenic nematodes. "The idea is that they can stay alive within these formulated the prudent time until its use. A maximum time of between three and six months appears reasonable".
What's next: commercial formulations
The INIA Quilamapu scientist indicated that with the completion of this first part of the Fondef project, the desired "prototype" was obtained, which opens the way for the development of the prototype or formulated it for the commercial part, for which it would apply for an extension or Second stage of the project. In this section it is required to have a company that takes charge of the industrial component or production scaling of the nematodes, which is not easy since there are no companies in Chile with experience in producing this type of biological controller.
Formulated with entomopathogenic nematodes in the form of solids.
Andrés France indicated that there are commercial formulations of nematodes that come from Europe and that are efficient, but only in the control of the plagues recognized in the old continent, "but they do not achieve good results with native pests. The important thing is that the most important pests we have in Chile are precisely native ones. This is the case of the vine burrito and the kid of the fruit trees, without counting many species of white worms that are also native and cause considerable damage. Thus, it is possible to verify the aggressiveness of native species that attack European hazelnut orchards, apples, vines, blueberries and that are seriously affected by these pests at the root and crown level, being difficult to detect”.
Insect-seeking microorganisms
It should be noted that entomopathogenic nematodes are microscopic worms that have the necessary mobility to search for insects that will serve as a means for their feeding and reproduction, causing their death.
The entomopathogenic nematodes have the ability to search and / or detect insect pests in the soil profile, in galleries and within roots and stems of infected plants. Their presence is harmless to the environment, they are not toxic to humans, they are specific to each pest, and compatible with a high number of chemical agents used in agriculture.
Together with Andrés France, the researchers Ernesto Cisternas, from INIA La Cruz, were present at the Fondef project's final seminar; Irina Urtubia and Lorena Barra, from INIA Quilamapu; and Adriana Sáenz Aponte, from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Colombia.
About INIA
The Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) is the main agricultural research institution in Chile, under the Ministry of Agriculture, with a national presence from Arica to Magallanes, through its 10 Regional Centers, as well as technical offices and experimental centers in each of the regions of the country. Its mission is to generate and transfer knowledge and strategic technologies on a global scale, to produce innovation and improve the competitiveness of the agri-food sector.
Source: INIA
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