CroProPol - Using Managed Pollinators to Disseminate Biological Control Agents & Natural Products for Crop Protection and Pollination

Contacts

Dr. Peter Kevan, Canada, pkevan@uoguelph.ca

Joint Study/Working Group (WG) for IOBC and ICPPR

Aim

The aim of CroProPol is to bring interested parties together to develop concepts and to conduct Research and Development in using managed pollinators and other flower visitors to disseminate biological control agents and, perhaps, other products, such as botanicals and medicaments, to crops for the suppression of insect pests and crop diseases while simultaneously improving yields and crop quality through pollination. CroProPol will also help the exchange of ideas for testing and developing using control agents that are disseminated by managed pollinators into their nests for suppression of their own pests and diseases. The potential that predators, parasitoids, and macroparasites may also disseminate microbial biological control agents against pests and diseases of crops will also be explored.

CroProPol has been initiated through the co-operative efforts of the International Commission for Plant Pollinator Relations (ICPPR) and the International Organisation for Biological Control (IOBC) under the umbrella of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS, www.iubs.org).

Join

Interested people are welcome to subscribe to the listserv: The open subscription LISTSERV to exchange news and ideas, and to seek advice is now operational at CroProPol@listserv.uoguelph.ca. Please feel free to join by sending an e-mail to listserv@uoguelph.ca with your message "subscribe CroProPol your name".

Future activities

  • CroProPol is working closely with the ICPPR to have a first organisational meeting in conjunction with its bee protection and health working group in Valencia, Spain in October 2017 (to register: https://bpg-meeting.julius-kuehn.de).
  • A course on using managed pollinators to disseminate biological control agents and natural products for crop protection and pollination to be held in Serbia through the University of Belgrade in spring 2018.
  • The ICPPR is planning its International Pollination Symposium to take place in Berlin in spring, 2018 at which a session on CroProPol is expected.

 

Logo: International Organisation for Biological Control (IOBC)