Lithos Crop Protect presented the first sprayable pheromone against the Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica v.v.) at the German Plant Protection Conference 2023.
More than 40% of European maize acreage is infested with the “Western Corn Rootworm”, which causes great damage to maize farmers. Lithos Crop Protect therefore developed the first sprayable pheromone application against Diabrotica v.v. in maize. Dr. Franz Reitbauer, Managing Director of Lithos Crop Protect, presented the pheromone pherolit®-d at the German Plant Protection Conference in Göttingen. The patented lithos micro dispenser® technology enables for the first time a sprayable pheromone application and thus a large-scale use in arable farming. Once approved, this milestone for agriculture enables large-scale application with the aim of disrupting the reproduction of the Corn Rootworm in a natural way and thus counteracting its further spread.
“Our pheromone pherolit®-d will be the first pheromone with this technology to make an important contribution to the sustainable control of the Western corn rootworm (Diabrotica v.v.L) in maize!”
Dr. Franz Reitbauer, Managing Director of Lithos Crop Protect
The technology, the future possibilities and the associated advantages were presented. The current status of the approval was also discussed.