ECO_FRUCT_BN, a Romanian Operational Group, is testing different methods and technologies to improve insect pest control in organic fruit production. On 4 pilot organic farms in the hill and mountain area of Bistrita county, the project partners is carrying out trials for integrated pest management (IPM) strategies and a solution for storing organic fruit in order to improve production and contribute to the preservation of the environment and biodiversity. In this area in Romania, pests are a particular problem for orchards. Insects such as the apple worm (Cydia pomonella), the apple stem borer (Synanthedon myopaeformis), the plum worm (Grapholita funebrana), the plum fly (Eriotoma amigdalis) can have a devastating impact on crops. “In the last three years over 80% of the apple harvest in the fall had spots, specific traces left by the apple worm, the galleries filled with excrement of the larvae giving an appearance that depreciates the quality” said a farmer from Blăjenii de Sus Bistrița involved in the Operational Group. In conventional farming, to protect the fruit against pest attacks, farmers usually apply a range of pesticides. However, options are more limited for organic growers, who were facing a lot of crop losses because of these pests. The partners of this Operational Group therefore identified a specific need to find effective eco-friendly solutions for organic farming, but which could also be used by conventional growers.