Vink Sion
- Beatrix Büte
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Bell Pepper
At Vink Sion, a pepper grower in Friesland, a combination of biological control and automated monitoring is yielding promising results against one of the most persistent greenhouse pests: the Tomato looper (Chrysodeixis chalcites). Working closely with retailer programs like Bakker Barendrecht and Albert Heijn’s Beter voor Natuur & Boer, the company has embraced sustainable practices that support biodiversity and reduced chemical use.
To reinforce that mission, Vink Sion has been trialing a dual strategy: releasing Trichogramma wasps to parasitize moth eggs and deploying PATS-C to track moth activity in real time. The goal is to act earlier, more precisely, and with more confidence.
Biological control with backup
The first step in the approach is releasing Trichogramma brassicae along the crop edges and under vulnerable conditions, particularly in greenhouses with high pest pressure. This year, two out of three greenhouse blocks were treated preventively.
“We used to hang sticky traps and hope for the best,” recalls crop manager Albert van der Ziel. “Now, we release the Trichogramma first, and the PATS-C system confirms that it’s working.”
In 2024, the difference became crystal clear. From the PATS-C data, the team could clearly see fewer Tomato loopers in the blocks where Trichogramma had been applied compared to the untreated control.
“That confirmation is worth a lot,” says Albert. “You can see the data backing up your strategy. That builds trust.”
A shift in scouting and decision-making
With PATS-C monitoring overnight flights, the team no longer has to rely on just sticky traps or daytime scouting.
“We used to miss a lot. Now, if we don’t see activity in the data, we know we don’t need to scout intensively in that block. That’s new for us, and it really helps,” says Albert. Even other moth species like Duponchelia are now detected in the system, helping the team target different beneficials accordingly.
“PATS-C can tell the difference between moth species based on size and shape. That tells us what kind of biologicals we might need to release.”
From demo to daily use
Vink Sion first encountered PATS-C during a demo and decided to give it a chance. Owner Jaap Vink had seen the system but wasn’t fully convinced until Albert pushed to install it and test its value.
“At first, we didn’t know exactly what we were seeing,” says Albert. “But after just one season, we realized the value. More and more, we’ve come to trust the system.”
Now, the grower team is working toward expanding their use of both PATS-C and Trichogramma. Next up: linking the data more closely to treatment schedules and scaling the approach to other greenhouses.
Sustainable progress, supported by data
The Tomato looper remains a stubborn pest in many crops. But with tools like PATS-C, growers like Vink Sion are seeing that automated data and biological solutions don’t just coexist, they amplify each other.
“It’s not just about reacting anymore. We see things earlier and do less,” Albert says. “And when you see that in the numbers, it gives you the confidence to keep going.”
Albert van der Zei, Crop Manager
Vink Sion
