Manually dispensing beneficials can be labour intensive says Hanne Steel, Biobest product portfolio manager for beneficials.

“A repetitive task which requires high levels of focus, it can be difficult to assess if the task has been performed well,” she says. “To optimize biocontrol strategies and its effectiveness, it is important to get even distribution of beneficials throughout the crop.”

The Entomatic dispensing system is now available in North America for an accurate and homogenous flow of mite products including Phytoseiulus-System, Amblyseius-System, and Swirskii-System. The dispenser can also be used for suitable pupae and egg-based biocontrol products.

“Compared to other dispensers, Entomatic continuously and gently blows the mites onto the crop,” explains HortiWorld’s Rembrandt van Meegen. “By slowing down the airflow, more mites land on the leaves - where they are required – with minimal falling to the floor. The reservoir enables different products to be carried. When pre-mixed, an auger system provides continuous and homogenous supply to the dispensing points.”   

A simple modular system, the machine is highly adaptable and can be configured to suit almost all glasshouse crops – soft fruit, protected salads and ornamentals - and any growing system.

“Extensively trialed and tested, Entomatic can handle all common beneficial carrier materials – vermiculite, sawdust, bran, and buckwheat husk. With no requirement for a pipe rail system, it can be mounted on a cart, tractor, or spray equipment. All this adaptability brings benefits to us as manufacturers, Biobest as suppliers, and growers as users,” he says.

It can be challenging to schedule and coordinate sufficient crop workers to manually apply biocontrols coinciding with deliveries. With two to 16 dispensing points, the Entomatic can automatically dispense beneficials in up to 16 rows simultaneously. Depending on the number of dispensing points and row length, it has a dispensing capacity of up to 1.5 ha per hour.

Summing up, Steel says: “While helping growers improve their labour efficiency, the Entomatic helps ensure the beneficials are dispensed evenly throughout the crop – a prerequisite of good biological control strategies.”

In North America, Entomatic is available from Plant Products, a member of the Biobest Group.