Technology that reduces burdens on environment and people by utilizing natural enemies and repellents, is expected to efficiently prevent invasion and spread of insect pests, improve productivity and environmental conservation, stable food supply, and labor reduction. Additively, export products will meet the standards of the partner countries. NARO has collaborated with private companies and prefectural institutes, etc., for developing technology of pest repellents, insectary plants and feed for natural enemies. Our Group uses team-science of biological-control researchers to combine these natural enemy species with insectary materials, and pest repellents. Through this we aim to build pest control systems with environmental load reduction by decreasing 50% use of chemically synthesized insecticides in major vegetable production. We also aim to develop basic technology for materialization and utilization of indigenous natural enemies from the elucidation of their functions in vegetable fields. We will also develop technologies for disease control that can reduce the environmental burden, such as the use of microorganisms and fungicide-independent methods suited to pathogen characteristics.
