Ants in agriculture

Ants in agriculture are nothing new. In fact, ants are already used as beneficial insects in biological control in several countries around the world, including Thailand and several West African countries.

Here you can learn more about the role of ants in agriculture.

Weaver ants protect fruit trees in Africa, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and India

This review from 2015 summarizes, among other things, the effect of weaver ants in fruit orchards around the world. In all countries, the ants have been seen to reduce the number of pests and damage to the fruit, and in several cases the ants also increased yields.

Ants protect coffee plants

Several species of ants have been shown to be important in coffee production, as they protect the plants from pests, herbivores, and fungal attacks. The role of ants in coffee production is described in this 2010 article.

Next stop: Ants in apple orchards

At AgroAnt, we use forest ants to protect fruit trees from pests and plant diseases. It has never been done commercially before, but the ants have already shown that they can combat pests and plant diseases that attack apple trees. In this article from 2023, we have investigated the effect of the ants on apple scab, and found that the ants are able to reduce the amount of scab by 61 and 34% on apples and leaves, respectively.

Is your orchard our next stop?