The EIP-Agri project "Beneficial Insect Flower Strips" investigated the effects of flowering strips on biological aphid control in adjacent pea and bean fields. The tasks of the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein in this project ranged from the composition of the seed mixture and the establishment of the flowering strips to their botanical evaluation.
The first plots were established in the greater Pasching area in 2019 and continuously monitored until 2021. The establishment of the plots was very successful, and all species from eleven plant families included in the mixture were able to establish themselves. In addition to the botanical evaluations by the HBLFA Higher Federal Institute for Agricultural Research and Testing), the landowners were also trained in identifying the planted species, enabling them to independently create a flowering calendar showing the sequence of blooms.
Accompanying studies by the project partners Global 2000 and AGES Vienna showed that these flowering strips were extremely attractive to pollinating insects as well as predatory insects such as ladybugs and lacewings.
