Biological Pest Control with Wasps – AU FOOD Joins New Research Project
The Department of Food Science is participating in a new research project exploring biological pest control using wasps as natural allies. Professor Hanne Lakkenborg Kristensen from AU FOOD is collaborating with senior scientist Joachim Offenberg from AU EcoScience in field trials near Auning.
How can wasps help protect kale fields without the use of pesticides? That’s the question researchers from the Department of Food Science and Department of EcoScience at Aarhus University are investigating in a new project aimed at developing more sustainable plant protection methods.
As part of the WaspAlliance project, a two-year field trial has just been launched on AU FOOD’s experimental field near Gl. Estrup, close to Auning. The field trial aims to compare biological pest control using parasitic wasps with the more conventional method of covering kale plants with plastic netting.
The trial focuses on curly kale and will help assess whether wasps can be a practical and environmentally friendly alternative to physical covers.
Through WaspAlliance, AU FOOD contributes to the development of innovative and sustainable solutions in vegetable farming.
📄 Read the full press release from Via Ritzau (in Danish): https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/14474682/forskere-saetter-hvepse-ind-i-kampen-mod-skadedyr-pa-kal?lang=da