Fewer sachets, less labour, effective thrips control: Amaranthos shares its experience with Nutrimite™

At Amaranthos in Bleiswijk, the Netherlands, grower Johan Vellekoop has found an effective way to manage thrips while reducing labour. By combining Biobest’s Nutrimite™ with Swirskii-System and Hypoaspis-System, the nursery has achieved strong biological control with fewer predatory mite sachets.

Tackling thrips in amaryllis cultivation

Amaranthos specialises in growing amaryllis across 35,000 m² of greenhouse production. Like many ornamental growers, the nursery has faced challenges with thrips in the past.

“We used to have quite a lot of problems with thrips,” explains Johan Vellekoop.

Through Biobest, Johan was introduced to a biological control strategy combining predatory mites with Nutrimite™, a supplementary food source designed to support predatory mite populations.

The results have been encouraging.

“Since we started using Swirskii-System in combination with pollen, the thrips problem has continued to decrease. Together with Hypoaspis-System, the problem is now almost completely under control. We hardly have any thrips left.”

Supporting predatory mites with Nutrimite™

Nutrimite™ is a specially selected pollen-based supplementary food for predatory mites. It helps support their establishment and population development, even when natural prey is limited.

At Amaranthos, Nutrimite™ is used to supplement the diet of Amblyseius swirskii, helping the nursery maintain a strong population of beneficial mites throughout the growing season.

The approach focuses on keeping predatory mites active and established in the crop, rather than relying solely on repeated introductions.

Targeting thrips at different stages

Amaranthos combines two Biobest systems to target different stages of the thrips life cycle.

Swirskii-System is used to control thrips larvae on the foliage. Hypoaspis-System complements this approach by targeting soil-dwelling stages, including thrips pupae.

By introducing Hypoaspis-System several times throughout the year, the nursery aims to maintain an effective population of beneficial mites in the growing medium.

This combined strategy helps provide more comprehensive biological control of western flower thrips.

Fewer sachets, less work

One of the biggest advantages Johan has noticed is the reduction in labour.

Previously, the nursery used a system that required continuous reintroduction of beneficial mites. With the current approach, fewer predatory mite sachets are needed.

“With this method, we need far fewer sachets. If we have a small thrips outbreak, we simply hang a few extra sachets, while Nutrimite™ helps us support the rest of the predatory mite population.”

Nutrimite™ is distributed evenly over the crop using a blower, allowing the predatory mites to find and feed on the pollen when needed.

At Amaranthos, a fresh application is made approximately every two weeks to maintain the availability of supplementary food.

“It saves us a lot of work, and the results are at least as good as before, perhaps even better,” Johan explains.

Monitoring keeps the strategy on track

Regular crop monitoring remains an important part of the nursery’s biological control programme.

Biobest advisor Marvin visits Amaranthos approximately every three weeks to assess predatory mite populations and check for the presence of thrips.

By monitoring both beneficial insects and pests, the team can evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy and make adjustments when needed.

According to Johan, the results are generally very positive.

A practical solution for growers

For Johan, the benefits of Nutrimite™ go beyond pest control. The combination of a strong predatory mite population, fewer sachets and efficient pollen distribution makes the system easier to manage.

When asked whether he would recommend Nutrimite™ to fellow growers, his answer is clear:

“I definitely see the advantages. Above all, it saves labour.”

The experience at Amaranthos demonstrates how supplementary feeding, complementary beneficial mite systems and regular monitoring can work together to support reliable biological pest control.

Discover how Nutrimite™ can support your biological control strategy.

Learn more about Nutrimite™

Watch the full grower testimonial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cGSIaXd5BU