This year DutchTrig celebrates its 30th anniversary! In 1992 DutchTrig was officially approved for use as a vaccine, and since then healthy elms worldwide, as part of an integrated elm management program, have been protected against Dutch elm disease. Dutch elm disease was first identified in Belgium by a Dutch researcher at the beginning of the 20th century. This was the starting signal to take measures and look for resistant forms. A decades-long control of Dutch elm disease followed. At the end of the 80’s, in a partnership between the University of Amsterdam, the municipality of Amsterdam and idverde Bomendienst (then called Arcadis Heidemij Realisatie) a research was started to find a solution. Since its approval in 1992, the biological vaccine has now been successfully applied in countries such as Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.
Special vaccine
Dutch elm disease is transmitted by the elm spider beetle. The biological and organic vaccine DutchTrig, consists of fungal spores of Verticillium, which activate the elm’s defense mechanism. DutchTrig can be compared to a vaccination. So the elms are not sick, but are vaccinated when healthy to ward off the disease. Every year the elm makes a new annual ring, which means the treatment has to be repeated every spring. Through the use of DutchTrig, native elm species have been preserved in the urban environment and, in addition to the benefits of shade, coolness, purified air and biodiversity, the monumental avenues and parks remain for future generations.
Future-proof
On several fronts, DutchTrig is ready for the future: in addition to the fact that the product is sustainable, the collaborations are also of a longer nature. “We really see our customers as partners, indicates Ron Schraven, Head of Tree Diseases and Infestations of idverde Bomendienst B.V.. We are therefore proud of the results we have achieved together with the partners in the different countries. By applying the scientific method of DutchTrig, in combination with an integrated management program, policy makers and managers proactively take their responsibility to preserve the elm in a sustainable and responsible way. DutchTrig therefore looks to the future for the elm with confidence!”
