The presence of the Colorado potato beetle on a potato field is quite a challenge. Especially for the organic grower, who prefers not to use any chemicals. Joris van der Kamp grew potatoes in 2019 and says he has tried everything that is allowed within organic farming. Without the desired effect.
In 2019, he developed the Colorado Beetle Catcher together with three organic growers and two machine builders. A machine that knocks the beetles off the plants. The machine can be viewed during the BioVelddagen through a video that was recorded on Zonnegoed, the company of Joost van Strien in Ens.
Natural behavior
“In 2019 I grew potatoes on 3000 m2 near Doesburg. There I was very bothered by the beetles. I tried spraying nematodes, used nettle vulture and went through the field with family and friends to remove the beetles. A real I didn’t have a solution. I did see the natural behavior of the beetle. If you tap the plant, they drop and play for dead. We used that natural behavior in the machine design.”
Workgroup
Joris set up a working group with Joost van Strien from Zonnegoed, Henk Klompe from De pledge Bio and Gerard Brinks from Thedingsweert. Machine builders Ard Klompe and Koen Hertogh of FieldWorkers also joined. “In brainstorming sessions, it was revealed what the growers did and did not want from a machine and how a machine could function. The machine builders eventually made workable 3D designs from this,” explains Joris. The working group applied for a subsidy from the POP3 program ‘Working together on innovation’ of the province of Flevoland and the European Union. The grant was awarded. “We had a very quick start,” he recalls. “When we heard in January 2020 that we had received the financing, we immediately started the brainstorming sessions and the design.
The machine works on the basis of hydraulically driven motors. Flaps knock off the beetles and larvae from the plants. They are collected in the collection bins. In this video we see the Colorado Beetle Catcher in front of the tractor, so that the potatoes can be ridden at the same time. Because not all growers have a tractor where the machine can be connected at the front, there is also a version that connects to the rear of the tractor.
Warm summers
This year is the second potato season in which the machine goes over the potato field. “Due to the warm summers of recent years, you can see that the Colorado potato beetle is on the rise. And if you don’t do anything about it, they really eat everything. When it gets warmer after the winter, the beetles come out of the ground. eat some of the leaf of the potato plant and then lay eggs on the underside of the leaf. The striking orange eggs are usually laid in groups of 25. An adult beetle can lay up to 800 eggs per year.”
When the development process is completed, more machines can be built. There is a lot of interest in mechanical control, Joris notices. Because the Colorado potato beetle causes problems worldwide, there are also opportunities abroad. “Growers prefer to use as few resources as possible. We need to find other ways to deal with this problem. Taking advantage of the Colorado beetle’s natural behavior is the best way to get it small,” he concludes.
Click here to view more footage of the Colorado Beetle Catcher on the BioVelddagen platform.
The development of this innovative machine has been made possible in part by the province of Flevoland, the Foundation for Innovation Prize Organic Agriculture and the EU. European Fund for Rural Development: Europe Invests in its countryside.
