Cleaner Cultivation Process, Naturally Good

More and more people are becoming more aware of what they buy and what they eat. An environmentally-friendly production process, (food) safety, and a quality end product are the key issues for consumers and politicians. Zonda Resources helps growers in the food and ornamental plant cultivation sectors to meet today's demands and legal requirements. When natural enemies are used to control pests, the use of crop protection chemicals can be reduced and sometimes even eliminated altogether, which is of course also beneficial to the grower and his environment. Zonda supplies a complete biological system, from live products to advice and guidance. It is a healthy combination for everyone.

Driven By Health

Although all efforts now seem to be driven by consumer demands, Zonda Resources originated from something quite different.

In 1990, Dr Nelson Pomeroy, a leading researcher specializing in the use of bumble bees as pollinating agents, realized that there was a niche market in NZ for the use of bumble bees to pollinate many greenhouse vegetable and fruit crops. To supply this market, the company Zonda Resources set up a production facility in Hastings and set about producing bumble bee hives to supply to New Zealand growers. With the advent of natural pollinators in the greenhouse, many growers were concerned that some of the sprays that were being used to control greenhouse insect pests may also be affecting their bees and that some insect/mite pests were quickly becoming resistant to the most popular sprays being used.

As a result of grower interest, a production facility was set up in late 1995 to produce biological control agents for the major greenhouse pests, namely greenhouse whitefly, onion and western flower thrips, and two spotted or spider mites. The production of these biological control agents is part of a joint venture with Koppert BV of Holland. Koppert pioneered biological control in Europe and brings nearly 30 years of accumulated experience and knowledge to the NZ market. The value of this knowledge has become apparent over the past few years, with large numbers of growers having greater levels of success regarding their pest control, thanks to information gained from overseas.

Zonda Resources and Koppert BV are both committed to improving the range of biological control agents available to NZ growers, and to ensuring that NZ growers have the necessary tools to achieve the desired pest control results. To this end, Zonda Resources have employed full time technical advisors based in Auckland to help growers with any problems that they may have when implementing an integrated pest management program.