Dr. Robert Mensah created a food spray to combat bollworms devastating cotton farms in Australia during the 90s. Instead of escalating pesticide use, Mensah attracted beneficial predatory insects, such as ladybirds and lacewings, with a mixture of food ingredients, yeast, and sugar diluted in water. This sustainable farming method supports integrated pest management, reducing reliance on harmful pesticides. Additionally, refuge crops like evergreen alfalfa allow beneficial insect populations to thrive year-round, further enhancing pest control practices and promoting ecological sustainability in agriculture.
Instead of carrying on down the death spiral, Mensah, an entomologist working at the Cotton Research Institute, began to wonder whether it might be possible to get another insect in to do the job.
He experimented and eventually came up with a simple food spray, a mixture of food ingredients, yeast and sugar-based, diluted in water and applied to crops.
This approach to farming, which reduces our reliance on pesticides, is called integrated pest management.
By using food sprays to attract beneficial predators, Mensah's method supports sustainable farming and enables the control of bollworm populations without harming other insects.
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