Friends against Foes

We take species conservation serious. Therefore, we start with our routine. Since many years, the Botanical Garden is practicing biocontrol of pests using beneficial insects. Among the Botanical Gardens in Germany, we have been the pioneers, and the best practice has been adopted by many other gardens meanwhile. Making use of natural enemies of pests, we can almost completely avoid the use of hazardous pesticides. The research activity of the institute has been progressively increasing and so has the number of experimental plants. This means higher pressure through pest. 

Does this mean that we need to spray more? This would not only worsen our ecological footpring, but would pose risks to the people working in the garden, as well as to the students that use the garden for excursions and projects, as well as to the visitors. We are grateful for a yearly support by the KIT presidium we were able to establish a sustainable alternative. Biological pest control needs, however, a lot of experience and a detailed knowledge of the biology of pests and beneficial insects. 

Our gardeners can draw from decades of experience and their expertise is leading among the Botanical Gardens in Germany.