Published in Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture, Vol. LXIII, Issue 1
Written by Ileana RÎNDAȘU, Roxana CICEOI, Cristian Mihai POMOHACI, Florin STĂNICĂ
The impact of invasive alien species (IAS) introduction on economic activities and biodiversity of a new territory is difficult to assess. The online trade had recently exponentially increased the risk of new IAS introductions. A typical example for Europe of such issue is Aceria kuko, the goji-berries gall mite, which was detected for the first time in UK, in 2008 and then continues to spread slowly all over the continent. In Romania the pest was detected for the first time in 2013 and intensive chemical control was applied since 2016, with unsatisfactory efficacy. For economic reasons, most of the goji producers have their fruit plantations included in the organic production system, thus commercially available systemic acaricides cannot be used. In the same time, for those who prefer intensive production, the application of these pesticides leads to important losses, as goji plants produce fruits continuously during summer and long pause intervals decrease the marketable fruit quantity. Thus, organic control measures are highly demanded, the homeopathic biopreparations being one of the very affordable measures that farmers could take. The results of Thuja and Lycium homeopathic applications on two biotypes of goji (Lycium barbarum) are presented. Promising results were obtained with Thuja CH 30 dilution and biopreparation made from host plant infested leaves. Further studies regarding the plant protection throughout the years are required, before making pest control recommendations for goji farmers.
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