Use of biological control agents in greenhouse horticulture
| Biological, control | Crops | Periods | Biological control Companies with deployment of macrobials Companies with biological control agents (number) | Biological control Companies with deployment of macrobials Companies with biological control agents (%) | Deployed macrobiological control agents (1000 pieces) | Deployed biological control agents per Crop area (1000 pieces/ha) | Deployed biological control agents per Area with biological control agents (1000 pieces/ha) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total biological, control agents | Total crops/cultivation sectors | 2024* | . | . | . | . | . |
| Total biological, control agents | Strawberries, under glass | 2024* | 192 | 89.0 | . | . | . |
| Total biological, control agents | Foliage plants under glass | 2024* | 190 | 70.4 | . | . | . |
| Total biological, control agents | Chrysantinum under glass | 2024* | 105 | 83.0 | . | . | . |
| Total biological, control agents | Gerberas under glass | 2024* | 38 | 100.0 | . | . | . |
| Total biological, control agents | Cucumbers | 2024* | 179 | 94.7 | . | . | . |
| Total biological, control agents | Peppers (total) | 2024* | 190 | 96.1 | . | . | . |
| Total biological, control agents | Pot plants for flowering | 2024* | 274 | 59.6 | . | . | . |
| Total biological, control agents | Roses under glass | 2024* | 44 | 93.7 | . | . | . |
| Total biological, control agents | Tomatoes (total) | 2024* | 201 | 92.2 | . | . | . |
| Source: CBS. | |||||||
Table explanation
This table contains data on the use of biological control agents in horticultural crops under cover. Except about the number of companies which apply biological control agents and the corresponding area, the table gives information about the number of macrobial organisms, as a total and per group of organisms and per ha. A selection can be made by crop.
Microbial pesticides (like bacteria, fungi) are not is this table because they are plant protection products.
Data available from: 2012
Status of the figures:
The figures of 2012, 2016 and 2020 are final, the figures of 2024 are provisional.
Changes as of 12 February 2026:
Provisional figures of 2024 have been added.
Data on the number of agents of nematodes in 2020 have been deleted. In 2024 methodological improvements have been introduced that could not be applied to the 2020 data. Therefore data on number of nematodes in 2020 are not shown.
When will new figures be published?
Final figures of 2024 will become available in the fourt quarter of December 2026.
Description topics
- Biological control
- Biological control implies the deployment of purchased biological control agents for prevention and control of plagues. A biological control agent is a natural enemy of a plague. The agent is an invertebrate macrobial
- Companies with deployment of macrobials
- Horticultural companies which deploy purchased macrobiological control agents.
- Companies with biological control agents
- Number of horticultural companies which deploy macrobiological agents.
- Companies with biological control agents
- Number of horticultural companies which deploy macrobiological control agents, as a percentage of all companies which grow the crop.
- Deployed macrobiological control agents
- The number of deployed macrobiological control agents against plagues. Numbers of macrobials from bankerplants are not included. Numbers of macrobials from sachets with guaranteed outflow are included. Nutrition for predators is not included. Notice that the number of nematodes is very large and therefore a total is only provided for the level of biological groups or macrobial organism.
- Deployed biological control agents per
- Numbers of deployed, purchased, macrobial control agents against plagues. Per hectare. Growth of the population during crop growth is neglected.
- Crop area
- Numbers of deployed, purchased, macrobial control agents against plagues. Per hectare of a crop. This number depends also on the number of cultivations of the crop.
- Area with biological control agents
- Numbers of deployed, purchased, macrobial control agents against plagues. Per hectare of a crop with deployment of at least one macrobial. This number depends also on the number of cultivations of the crop.