United Kingdom
April 15, 2013
The Horticultural Development Company (HDC) Pest Bulletins are now available for all vegetable industry growers, agronomists, researchers and students, providing early warnings of potentially damaging pest attacks and valuable advice for planning this season’s agronomy programmes.
The Bulletins are hosted exclusively on the freely available Syngenta website: www.syngenta.co.uk. The Horticultural Development Company (HDC) Pest Bulletins are now available for all vegetable industry growers, agronomists, researchers and students, providing early warnings of potentially damaging pest attacks and valuable advice for planning this season’s agronomy programmes. The Bulletins are hosted exclusively on the freely available Syngenta website: www.syngenta.co.uk
Running throughout the key periods of pest activity, the HDC Pest Bulletins are produced in association with Warwick University and Rothamsted Research and use weather data collected by Plantsystems.
Crops and pests covered in-season by the dedicated HDC Pest Bulletin webpage include:
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Brassicas
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Cabbage Root Fly; Aphids; Caterpillars; Pollen Beetle
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Carrots & Parsnips
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Carrot Fly; Aphids; Cutworm
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Leeks & Onions
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Thrips; Cutworm; Bean Seed Fly; Leek Moth
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Lettuce
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Aphids; Caterpillars; Cutworm
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There is also specific bulletin information on Large Narcissus Fly, along with a Syngenta photo gallery to aid pest and beneficial insect identification.
Whilst primarily designed for field vegetable and salad growers, the information on aphid species and population numbers is equally applicable for potato and sugar beet growers to assess virus transmission risk and appropriate control options.
Syngenta Field Vegetable Technical Manager, Ian Holmes, highlighted that the Pest Bulletins will be especially valuable this year, since insect numbers could build very rapidly after a slow start to the season. “With beneficial predatory insect numbers also low at the moment, growers can expect to see a rapid initial build-up of pests when conditions warm up through the season – which is likely to coincide with crop development from spring sowings,” he warned.
Mr Holmes added that plantings are now hoped to go well in a more typical April this season, compared to the exceptional wet last year that prevented most drilling and planting through the crucial months.
“Advance warning of pest infestations is essential for growers to assess risk and plan their control strategies. It gives an invaluable heads-up of what to look out for and what is occurring across the country,” he advised. “If you can see what’s coming, then you have time to get ready.” He reminded growers that it is important to re-visit and check the bulletin information on a weekly basis, especially when particular insect populations are developing rapidly.
HDC members will be provided with links to view bulletin pages from their weekly e-mail newsletters.
Syngenta Vegetables Campaign Manager, Rebecca Stilton, said: “Having this information available alongside the knowledge and experience of the Syngenta vegetable varieties and crop protection options provides growers and agronomists with a fully Integrated Crop Solution.
“It also links into the Syngenta Agricast weather information and other disease forecasting services, such as BrassicaAlert, to enable them to make more proactive decisions to deliver higher yields and crop quality more effectively,” she added.
Species
