More integrated measures against Suzuki fruitfly
The European fruit industry is being threatened by a new insect pest from Asia, the Suzuki fruitfly. The species first appeared in the Netherlands in 2012, and has already caused tens of millions of euros of damage to country’s fruit industry. Pesticides have turned out to be ineffective, and are harmful to the environment. Other methods to combat the pest have met with equally little success. Biologist Bregje Wertheim has been conducting research on the Suzuki fruitfly as part of a consortium of researchers and private-sector partners with the aim of developing an integrated, biological pest control programme.
Wertheim’s colleague in Groningen Leo Beukeboom is also involved, as are Marcel Dicke and Bert Pannebakker from Wageningen, the company Koppert Biological Systems and the applied research institute WUR-PPO-Fruit. The goal is to protect fruit crops and to stop the exponential growth of the exotic insect species.
More information
University of Groningen videos
The weekly online video magazine Unifocus highlights topics related to the University of Groningen in the fields of research and society, student life, teaching, policy and internationalization.
You can find more videos in our video portal.
Last modified: | 13 March 2020 02.07 a.m. |
More news
-
17 June 2025
Looking back on a successful opening of the Feringa Building
The Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Groningen has celebrated a milestone: the grand opening of the Feringa Building, the university’s newest and most advanced science facility.
-
17 June 2025
ERC Advanced grants for three UG researchers
The European Research Council has awarded ERC Advanced grants to Prof. Inga Kamp, Prof. Wouter Roos and Prof. Syuzanna Harutyunyan.
-
13 June 2025
Team 'Lord of the Roads' second at RDW Self Driving Challenge
The University of the North team 'Lord of the Roads', in which students from educational institutions Noorderpoort, Hanzehogeschool and the University of Groningen collaborated, came second in the RDW Self Driving Challenge (SDC). The team competed...