Euphresco collaborative project
The Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) is the Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants in Germany and an independent higher federal authority of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The JKI’s 18 specialist institutes are dedicated to (1) plant genetic diversity and breeding research, (2) crop protection, and (3) the sustainable design of agroecosystems. Here, the Institute for Biological Control is the only research institute in Germany, dedicated to the whole spectrum of disciplines in biological control. Natural enemies and microorganisms are explored for their interactions and their potential use for control of pest and plant pathogens.
Dr. Annette Herz is deputy head of the JKI Institute for Biological Control and team leader of the research group “Beneficial Insects and Functional Biodiversity”. Her research focuses on the identification and (safe) use of invertebrate biological control agents for the regulation of (invasive) agricultural pests, e.g., parasitoids against the Box Tree Pyralid moth or the Spotted Wing Drosophila. She also develops strategies to monitor, conserve and promote beneficial arthropods in agroecosystems.
Kathleen Lemanski is a Biologist-Ecologist and research associate in the research group “Beneficial insects and Functional Biodiversity” at the Institute of Biological Control. Her research interest is about the use of microbial biological control agents targeting plant pests. Furthermore, she is investigating how agricultural landscape can be ecologically upgraded for promotion of beneficial arthropods and hence reduce pests.