Biobest releases B-Green, a biological control agent for beetle larvae.

Biobest recently announced a biological solution against beetle larvae, B-Green.

B-Green works by basing itself on the parasitic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. This means that B-Green attacks the larvae of the garden chafer beetle, the phyllopertha horticola, which mainly appear from early July to until the end of September, right at the source: right underneath the turf, where these larvae eat roots and cause lawns to die.

“After application, these nematodes will look straight away for beetle larvae that are hiding in the root layer,” Biobest adviser Nick Nagels said. “They invade the larvae and multiply inside them. At the same time they release bacteria that live in symbiosis with the nematodes. This combination of these bacteria with the growing nematode population kills the beetle larvae.”

As it can be applied curatively, B-Green is a fast and efficient solution. Nagels advises to keep the soil humid while the product is applied, and to make the soil temperature remain above 53.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

“The product is supplied in a gel formulation,” Nagels said. “By mixing this with water, the nematodes float in the liquid solution. This solution then has to be sprayed over the lawn area that has to be treated.”

Even more interesting is that B-Green isn’t just useful for exterminating the larvae of the garden chafer. The nematodes in the product can also control the population of larvae from the black vine weevil, the Otiorhynchus sulcatus.