Article taken from the South East Farmer
The brown marmorated stinkbug (BMSB) could be the next challenge that UK top fruit growers will be facing in the UK, Professor Jerry Cross from East Malling Research told growers at the Agrovista top and stone fruit seminar.
Previously confused for stony pit damage, BMSB infested farms in Europe have seen orchard damage of up to 40%.
First seen in the United States in 1996, the pest is now present in more than 30 states causing an estimated loss in apples of $37 million, and has also become a huge household pest.
With no effective biological control – and most effective biological control – and most effective pesticides being banned in the European Union – the pest has since spread to countries including France, Greece, Hungary and Italy.
Professor Cross went on to highlight the importance of earwigs in orchards following a recent study, part funded by Agrovista, which planted earwig counters in 40 apple and pear orchards over two years.
The results showed a huge variation in population size across the orchards with some orchards having no earwigs at all. This is thought to be a combination of chlorpyrifos spray applications and orchard age. Where there were no or few applications of the chemical, a high number of earwigs could be seen. But in orchards where chlorpyrifos had been heavily applied a much smaller population of earwigs was found.
Orchard age was also a contributing factor with a general trend for higher earwig populations in older orchards. Professor Cross went on to tell the audience that the use of harmful pesticide treatments might work as a short term solution, but maintaining earwig populations is critical with trends showing that where earwig populations thrived, pest populations were very low.
The one day seminar – hosted by Agrovista and opened by Paul Bennett, Agrovista’s fruit team leader – welcomed about 60 growers form across the country to the Brands Hatch Hotel, where topics including pest and disease, modern methods of pest control and new developments in information technology were examined.
Alex Cooke of Agrovista UK warned growers that cherries will be at particularly high risk of spotted wing drosophila (SWD) this year, due to the mild winter. But conventional adult SWD monitoring traps will not be a reliable predictor of crop attacks. In order to protect vulnerable cherry crops suitable insecticides will need to be applied at seven day intervals.
Carrying out crush or floatation tests on the ripest fruit in the orchard will determine larvae numbers for the remaining season. Last season many orchards saw a sudden emergence of SWD which growers were unprepared for, which is why it is key to act early and take extra hygiene measures when tackling the pest.
The latest technology available to Agrovista customers included Growers Choice Interactive, which has seen a number of charges since last year.
With weather conditions affecting pest numbers, regular forecast updates tell growers if pesticide application is necessary in their area. By entering a spray programme, the disease and pest forecasting service will calculate applications dependent on weather conditions, including a 10 day projection for codling moth activity, timing and severity of Neo-nectria canker infections and timing and intensity of scab and spore release.
Other new technology by Agrovista’s exchange information system includes Map it Pro which builds up a database of your land and statistically analyses the season, telling you what the main influencing factors are making different soil zones and allowing you to pinpoint an area with GPS which may have slower growth, a weed problem or slug damage etc.
Ever advancing technology can often to overwhelming but this simple to use software has been adapted for tablets and smartphones so the app can be used in field where there is no ‘phone signal, which then later updates in the office over an internet connection.
Perhaps the most exciting development was the SCiO molecular sensor. This technology allows users to scan materials or physical objects for instant relevant information sent to an app on their smartphone about the chemical make up of just about anything.
The scanner, which fits in the palm of your hand, can get nutritional facts about different kinds of food, determine the hydration status of a particular plant, tell the consumer which apple will taste sweeter and which piece of fruit is ripest.
Although near infrared spectroscopy has been used for decades in laboratories, this is the first time it has been available to everyone. This could be a useful tool for growers but it could also create challenges in the future between growers, supermarkets and the consumer.
Latest pest control technology could reduce codling moth by 95% without the use of pesticides in BASF’s integrated pest management plan. The laboratory grown nematodes, released in orchards to consume harmful pests are effective on both codling moths and saw fly and are compatible with many herbicides and pesticides. Combined with the latest pheromone mating disruption techniques, orchards will see a reduction in pest populations by adopting these chemical free methods.
The brown marmorated stinkbug (BMSB) could be the next challenge that UK top fruit growers will be facing in the UK, Professor Jerry Cross from East Malling Research told growers at the Agrovista top and stone fruit seminar.
Previously confused for stony pit damage, BMSB infested farms in Europe have seen orchard damage of up to 40%.
First seen in the United States in 1996, the pest is now present in more than 30 states causing an estimated loss in apples of $37 million, and has also become a huge household pest.
With no effective biological control – and most effective biological control – and most effective pesticides being banned in the European Union – the pest has since spread to countries including France, Greece, Hungary and Italy.
Professor Cross went on to highlight the importance of earwigs in orchards following a recent study, part funded by Agrovista, which planted earwig counters in 40 apple and pear orchards over two years.
The results showed a huge variation in population size across the orchards with some orchards having no earwigs at all. This is thought to be a combination of chlorpyrifos spray applications and orchard age. Where there were no or few applications of the chemical, a high number of earwigs could be seen. But in orchards where chlorpyrifos had been heavily applied a much smaller population of earwigs was found.
Orchard age was also a contributing factor with a general trend for higher earwig populations in older orchards. Professor Cross went on to tell the audience that the use of harmful pesticide treatments might work as a short term solution, but maintaining earwig populations is critical with trends showing that where earwig populations thrived, pest populations were very low.
The one day seminar – hosted by Agrovista and opened by Paul Bennett, Agrovista’s fruit team leader – welcomed about 60 growers form across the country to the Brands Hatch Hotel, where topics including pest and disease, modern methods of pest control and new developments in information technology were examined.
Alex Cooke of Agrovista UK warned growers that cherries will be at particularly high risk of spotted wing drosophila (SWD) this year, due to the mild winter. But conventional adult SWD monitoring traps will not be a reliable predictor of crop attacks. In order to protect vulnerable cherry crops suitable insecticides will need to be applied at seven day intervals.
Carrying out crush or floatation tests on the ripest fruit in the orchard will determine larvae numbers for the remaining season. Last season many orchards saw a sudden emergence of SWD which growers were unprepared for, which is why it is key to act early and take extra hygiene measures when tackling the pest.
The latest technology available to Agrovista customers included Growers Choice Interactive, which has seen a number of charges since last year.
With weather conditions affecting pest numbers, regular forecast updates tell growers if pesticide application is necessary in their area. By entering a spray programme, the disease and pest forecasting service will calculate applications dependent on weather conditions, including a 10 day projection for codling moth activity, timing and severity of Neo-nectria canker infections and timing and intensity of scab and spore release.
Other new technology by Agrovista’s exchange information system includes Map it Pro which builds up a database of your land and statistically analyses the season, telling you what the main influencing factors are making different soil zones and allowing you to pinpoint an area with GPS which may have slower growth, a weed problem or slug damage etc.
Ever advancing technology can often to overwhelming but this simple to use software has been adapted for tablets and smartphones so the app can be used in field where there is no ‘phone signal, which then later updates in the office over an internet connection.
Perhaps the most exciting development was the SCiO molecular sensor. This technology allows users to scan materials or physical objects for instant relevant information sent to an app on their smartphone about the chemical make up of just about anything.
The scanner, which fits in the palm of your hand, can get nutritional facts about different kinds of food, determine the hydration status of a particular plant, tell the consumer which apple will taste sweeter and which piece of fruit is ripest.
Although near infrared spectroscopy has been used for decades in laboratories, this is the first time it has been available to everyone. This could be a useful tool for growers but it could also create challenges in the future between growers, supermarkets and the consumer.
Latest pest control technology could reduce codling moth by 95% without the use of pesticides in BASF’s integrated pest management plan. The laboratory grown nematodes, released in orchards to consume harmful pests are effective on both codling moths and saw fly and are compatible with many herbicides and pesticides. Combined with the latest pheromone mating disruption techniques, orchards will see a reduction in pest populations by adopting these chemical free methods.