Parasitoid wasps Trichogramma are efficient natural enemies of the European corn borer. Trichogramma wasps are egg parasitoids that lay eggs in the eggs of a host insect such as European corn borers, killing the host inside the parasitoid.
Drones are the ideal tools for the biological control of corn borers. They ensure the best and fastest distribution of the Trichogramma egg capsules, which, once hatched, give life to beneficial insects able to parasitize and neutralize the eggs of the harmful borer. Trichogramma capsules reduces European corn borer populations below the level of economic damage.
This method is less intrusive and more sustainable than commonly used chemical pesticides, which tend to damage the local environment and risk having these pests become resistant to treatment which would further increase the cost of suppressing these pests.
As part of the CREDIT Vibes Project, Trichogramma based capsules have been applied by drone for the first time in organic fields in Serbia!