Unique Way of Work

Biological Control

Why and how does it work? 

Plant protection: It’s a term we used to use.Long time ago there were a lot of different kinds of chemicals to kill vermin, fungus, diseases and weed. Including substances to kill lies, mice and flies etc.  

Later on the name changed in control, because preventing is better than to cure.In the greenhouse we wanted to protect our plants from danger. We closed all doors and windows; we introduced a good hygiene and made our plants feel comfortable. 

Until we found out, that our plants weren’t as fragile as we thought.
A plant that feels comfortable is strong and wants to grow. It protects itself towards diseases and vermin.
We can support the plant by offering the same substances, mechanisms and organisms that would also support it in the wild. 

That’s when BIOLOGY comes to play:

  • Fungus and bacteria, that made the plant strong and help to create a protective layer towards harmful fungus and stinging.
  • Predators, that live of harmful organisms, in order to keep the population under control.
  • Substances, that confuse male vermin, so they can’t multiply.
  • Insect traps, that use an attractive smell and colour.
  • Create circumstances, that vermin doesn’t like.
     

Strengthen the plant in a natural way, keeping vermin under control with natural predators works very well. But it needs constant supervision, to find the optimal balance. 

It is also a BALANCE. A predatory mite needs a fly to be able to eat. So there will always be a few flies. It is a challenge to use the right amount of predatory mite in proportion to the amount of flies. By all means, we don’t want to find any excrement on the plants or holes in all leafs. 

That is why we would never give a 100% guarantee of that you will never find any flies or snails on our plants.  The presence of a single fly on a super-pretty plant proves that we are working in a biological way. We are looking for an acceptable damage percentage.

Good for the environment and good for your fish in the aquarium. 

It is more difficult, but much more fascinating and healthier, then what we did in the past. You are forced to get to know your plants, its enemies and its favourite living circumstances. 

That is why we you have to screen your plants on a daily basis.
It is not only to be alert. That is not enough. At SonGrow we have five people that are in charge of the judging the plants. Every day they keep there eyes open and once a week they talk about the details with the biological control specialist of our supplier. Together they decide what needs to be done and how they have to apply the organisms. So don’t think that that by using biological protection you don’t need to squirt anymore. On the contrary, now you have to go into the matter with great depth. 

Here you can see a few pictures of our biological protection specialist Peter Vijverberg being busy with squirting natural enemies.