In Memory of Peter Koppert
Thursday 20th June 2023 was a sad day in the world of biological control, as we lost one of the most influential figures in modern day biological control. Peter Koppert, with his father, founded Koppert Biological Systems, which today is now the global leader in the use and supply of biological control. Peter's early work with Spider Mite control in cucumber crops contributed massively to the development of modern biological control practices.
His work with the Koppert company helped develop many ground breaking products and practices, which enabled growers to start growing crops without the use of insecticides. The environmental impact of this in crop protection has been huge with biological control becoming mainstream for many growers, with huge benefits for human health, as insecticides and their residues disappear from the produce we eat.
"Peter's work contributed massively to the development of modern biological control practices and enabled crop growing without the use of insecticides"
Peter Leaves Behind A Great Legacy & His Generous Character Will Be Sadly Missed
On a personal level, Peter was a man I greatly respected and admired, not only with his knowledge and drive to advance the use of biological control, but also as a warm, polite and generous character, who installed the same ethos in his company.
I can recall on one occasion taking him to see some quite tough Yorkshire growers, who at the time were not appreciating cucumber imports from Holland, and I was expecting quite a frosty meeting! But by the end they were totally disarmed by Peter's polite and knowledgeable manner, had forgotten about cucumber imports and were far more interested in how to improve the use of biological control in their own cucumber crops.
"Peter disarmed some frosty Yorkshire growers and soon had them engrossed in how to improve the use of biological control in their cucumber crops"
Peter's Impact On Dragonfli
Here at Dragonfli we were fortunate enough to have had a visit from Peter only a few months ago, as he came to see us shortly after Dragonfli became a Koppert owned company. Peter stepped back from managing Koppert some years ago but remained active in the business and will be a massive loss to the Koppert family, company and wider world of biological control.
