Nontoxic, sustainable pest control

Insects are a vital component of our ecosystem. As responsible growers, we’ve not only advocated for but engineered pest management approaches that are as safe as possible for people, plants, and the environment. To protect crops, we use a variety of safer insect control alternatives, including innovative products from our Oregon-based company, Suterra, the global leader in pheromone technology.

Rather than eliminate insects, pheromone technology is focused on disrupting mating behavior, resulting in lower populations. This allows us to target only the harmful pests while protecting pollinators and beneficial insects.

Nontoxic pheromones are delivered via CheckMate® dispensers and sprayable formulations, as well as via the Suterra Puffer® system, which is an aerosol device that hangs in the tree and puffs those pheromones into the air. They leave no harmful residues on food and do not leach into soil or groundwater the way other conventional pesticides do.

The results are compelling. In 2022, sustainability-minded growers, including The Wonderful Company, used Suterra products to reduce conventional insecticide treatments on nearly 700,000 acres of fruits, nuts, and other fresh produce. To learn more about the specific pesticide reductions The Wonderful Company has been able to achieve through Suterra products, visit www.suterra.com/success-stories.

As always, we’re more than willing to share these learnings with government agencies and other organizations in the hopes that together we can protect our environment and communities for years to come. Government agencies consult with our researchers on a regular basis, and our products are part of cutting-edge farming research at universities all over the world including the University of California, Washington State University, Universidad de Chile, and Universitat de Valencia.

In Europe, Suterra is working with rice farmers and winemakers to transition from protecting their crops with pesticides to sustainable, environmentally safe alternatives. To learn more, visit www.suterra.com/wonderfulnews.