The Pest is in the Past – A physical approach to crop protection

With 45% of annual food production lost to pests, effective pest control remains crucial for global food security. However, chemical pesticides cause human and animal poisoning, threaten biodiversity and reduce drinking water quality.
My PhD thesis discusses the development of a physical plant protection method,
to reduce global dependence on chemical pesticides. 
We create adhesive particles from vegetable oils, that mimic nature’s trichome functionality.
We have identified and developed tools to determine material properties throughout the adhesive preparation process. In addition, we have developed a method to incorporate volatiles that can repel pests from plants or attract natural predators.
Additionally, insect-trichome interactions have been studied to optimize adhesive immobilization effectiveness. We show effectiveness by measuring the
number of thrips immobilized and by ruling out any (severe) effects on natural
predators. Collectively, the studies in this thesis show the potential of
an adhesive physical crop protectant to reduce global chemical pesticide use while securing
food production and a healthy living environment.