Insect species represent the largest percentage of the world’s known species, with beetles making up about one-third of all known insect species. And while there are more than one million species of insects that have been documented and studied, scientists estimate there may be actually somewhere between 10 and 30 million species of insects inhabiting our planet.
Indeed, hexapods (insects in the broad sense) are the most successful organisms of all time if success is measured as the number of living species (life sciences) or number of families in the fossil record (earth sciences). Moreover, they have coevolved with plants and other organisms making them an indispensable part of the Earth's terrestrial environment.
No matter how much they may “bug” you, insects are ecologically and economically extremely important because most flowering and food plants depend on insects for pollination. But insects can also be agricultural pests and vectors – as farmers the world over will attest.
One would think we have more than enough beneficial insects, as well as other insect predators, on the Earth to keep agricultural insect pests at bay. But alas, as crops are grown each year, oftentimes the “bad” insects are ready and waiting to pounce. And the “good” insects just aren’t around or can’t keep up.
According to Shacher Carmi with BioBee, an Israel-based company that produces and implements beneficial macro-organisms in agriculture, beneficial insects are already present in most agricultural fields. “But the reason we could build a company on breeding them is because, for them to be effective, there needs to be the right quantity at the right time to take care of the pest infestations.”
Another provider of beneficial insects is Insectec, a South African insectary, that works with farmers and researchers to develop solutions to myriad pest problems. With the increasing clampdown on the use of synthetic chemicals in controlling agricultural pests, Insectec CEO Karel van Heerden says predatory insects are a perfect solution.
In this issue of New AG International, read more about this fascinating part of the industry as Lindi Botha discovers the role various companies play in continued pest control the world over.
Staying with the insect theme, albeit with a somewhat different direction, we take a close look at BigSis, a revolutionary company that has reinvented the sterile insect technique (SIT). While SIT is a platform technology that has been deployed for over 60 years, BigSis solutions differ in that it uses robotics and artificial intelligenceto develop its proprietary automated sterile male insect production system.
Also in this issue, we present a synopsis of a 2022 meta-analysis of biostimulant yield effectiveness. Yield is almost always touted as result of biostimulant use – find out what researchers discovered in their meta-analysis.
In our Leader Profile feature, Luke Hutson, New AG International’s chief analyst, sits down with New Edge Microbials to find out more about its research partnership with Australia’s research organization CSIRO.
In another international-based story, freelance writer Matt McIntosh discovers that greenhouse vegetable production is expanding globally, both in land base and crop diversity. And while the reasons are understandable – for instance, due to a changing climate and the need for greater food security – the road to protected food production isn’t necessarily smooth.
Deeper into this issue, Botha explores the use of biologicals in Kenya in our Regional Report. According to Donvae Hooker with Andermatt in Africa, “the demand for biologicals is so high due to the clamp down on chemical usage that we are inundated with requests for farmers looking for alternatives to chemicals.” Good news for manufacturers of biologicals indeed.
And finally, freelance contributor Leonardo Gottems explores Argentine fertilizer use. In his report, he discovered Argentine fertilizer consumption broke a record in the 2021-22 season with, not surprisingly, nitrogen leadingthe pack.
Read all this and more in this issue of New AG International. ●
