Powerful combination - plant strengthening and beneficial organisms

The use of beneficial organisms against plant pests is becoming increasingly popular in horticultural businesses, as there is a great deal of interest in saving on synthetic chemical pesticides in favour of more natural methods. Frank Korting has investigated how the use of plant strengthening agents affects beneficial organisms. To this end, test set-ups were developed for the individual beneficial organisms and the plants contained therein were sprayed with Multikraft spray solutions. These included MK Blatt, Terrafert Blatt, fermented garlic and chilli extract, fermented nettle and horsetail extract, and one spray solution also contained whey powder.
The predatory mites did not mind being sprayed at all. Only drinking the spray solution directly caused problems. However, the percentage dieback rates were so marginal that this was not an issue when using beneficial organisms. The lacewing larvae were also sprayed directly. Frank Korting: ‘Only Chrysoperla showed a slight sensitivity to the spray solution.
Under the binoculars, it appeared as if the animals were sticky, possibly due to the whey powder. We need to take a closer look at this." What overall conclusion can be drawn from the experiments? "The coating applied to the plants by the spray solution has no adverse effects on beneficial insects at all. If the animals are hit directly, the mortality rates are extremely low, meaning that Multikraft components are very compatible with beneficial organisms,’ says Frank Korting, who has already tested Multikraft fortifiers in previous trials with regard to fungal diseases such as mildew and botrytis.