On the Ground in Almería: Behind the Scenes with AgroBio and the Future of Biological Pest Control

On the Ground in Almería: Behind the Scenes with AgroBio and the Future of Biological Pest Control

Earlier this month, a few of us from Creation Horticulture got to spend two incredibly productive days in Almería, Spain. If you're not familiar with it, Almería is where AgroBio has their headquarters, and honestly, it's probably one of the most densely packed greenhouse regions you'll find anywhere.

We went out there with our partners at Royal Brinkman – Mike McCall, Graham Smith, Alex Antoniou and Richard from our side – and spent the time with AgroBio's team getting a proper look at biological pest control and where it's headed. Not just in Spain, but what it means for growers across Europe and back home.

Day One: Seeing It Work in Real Growing Operations

We kicked things off visiting two growers who are both using AgroBio products, though in completely different ways.

The first stop was Viveros Noe SC – a family nursery that's been going for years. They're growing poinsettias, dracaenas, hibiscus, that sort of thing. We sat down with the owner and his daughter and talked through how they're handling whitefly, thrips and red spider mite using natural predators instead of reaching for sprays every time something flares up. You're seeing more ornamental growers go this route now, and after watching how they've woven it into their pest management, it's easy to see why it works.

Later that day we went to see Carmelo's pepper tunnels. He's dealing with a pretty nasty spider mite problem this season – made worse by the coastal winds basically shuttling pests between sites along the coast. What stood out there was his approach: companion planting, predatory mites, creating natural barriers. It's about setting up the environment so the beneficials can actually do their job, even when conditions aren't ideal.

For us, being there in person and seeing it play out was huge. You can talk about beneficial insects all day, but it's different when you're standing in a tunnel watching how targeted releases and habitat tweaks combine to keep things under control.

Day Two: Where It All Comes From

If the first day was about watching biological control in the field, the second was about understanding how it all gets made in the first place.

We toured AgroBio's production facility, including the section where they breed bumblebees and run quality checks. Watching them manage everything from hive development through to shipping was genuinely eye-opening. It's pollination done at scale, but there's a level of attention to detail you don't always expect at that volume.

In the areas where they produce mites, we got to see how the beneficial insects are bred, harvested and tested before they go out. Every batch gets checked to make sure it's not just alive when it arrives, but actually going to perform once it's released.

One thing that caught our attention was their new "PLUS" range. It's a tweak to the formulation that keeps the insects and mites viable for an extra couple of days. Doesn't sound like much, but when you're trying to knock back an infestation before it gets out of hand, those 48 hours matter.

The afternoon sessions with Laura, Silia and Isobella from AgroBio were packed with technical detail. They walked us through how growers in different climates adapt these tools depending on what they're dealing with – whether it's Orius for thrips, Phytoseiulus for spider mites or using pollinators in crops you wouldn't normally think about. Their knowledge was honestly impressive, and you could tell they live and breathe this stuff.

What Our Team Took Away

Mike McCall, who handles sales in the South for us, said the trip was "unreal" – particularly seeing how Spain's coastal conditions and sheer greenhouse density shape how they think about biological strategy out there. Almería's got over 30,000 hectares of greenhouses churning out more than 3 million tonnes of produce every year. Biocontrol isn't experimental there anymore – it's industrial, science-backed and scalable. And that's what we're working to bring back here.

Alex Antoniou, who leads our sales office team, put it like this:

"I was blown away by the professionalism and depth of knowledge at AgroBio. Their PLUS formulations and the scale of their operation are incredible. But more than that, it was the conversations with growers that stood out – real-world challenges met with practical, sustainable solutions."

Graham Smith, our Head of Horticulture, maybe summed it up best:

"Learning about the bumblebee life cycle and AgroBio's full biocontrol portfolio gave us real perspective on what's possible. This is the future of growing – hands down."

What This Means for Growers Here

At Creation, we're focused on bringing biological solutions to UK growers that actually work under pressure and aren't just based on marketing hype. Real products, real results, backed by proper science.

We're working with AgroBio and Royal Brinkman to supply biological controls, pollination tools and integrated pest management solutions that help UK growers cut back on chemicals, improve crop health and keep their operations sustainable over the long term.

We're already seeing glasshouse growers, nurseries and soft fruit producers pick these up, and our team's here to help you figure out what makes sense for your crop, your site and whatever pest pressure you're dealing with.

Want to know more?

Reach out to our Creation Horticulture sales team or visit the Biological Control hub on our website to see what's available.