Flea Beetle 2019

[Brisel]

Yesterday morning

Sorry. I haven’t worked out how to do the angry reaction to your photo on my mobile. Hope the crop grows away from them.

 

[DrWazzock]

I saw on Twitter that @Feldspar was concerned for a 150ac block later planted ? Trouble then becomes fighting slugs and pigeons all winter !

I’m not sure if I should plant osr this week or wait until mid September to try miss this flush ?

Seems the rain / wetter conditions is what really stops them more than anything ?

I read in the Farmers Guide that drilling in September avoided the migration, but other factors brought yield penalties. Apparently, once the beetles have moved in, they don't move out as their muscles deteriorate.
Not very tempted to drill here today into a baking hot seedbed with no rain forecast for a week. We have drilled as late as 11th September here and suffered no significant yield penalty. Certainly soil temps won't be dropping any time soon with these temperatures which carry growth through September.

My "new" drill isn't quite ready either

 

[Clive]

I read in the Farmers Guide that drilling in September avoided the migration, but other factors brought yield penalties. Apparently, once the beetles have moved in, they don't move out as their muscles deteriorate.
Not very tempted to drill here today into a baking hot seedbed with no rain forecast for a week. We have drilled as late as 11th September here and suffered no significant yield penalty. Certainly soil temps won't be dropping any time soon with these temperatures which carry growth through September.

My "new" drill isn't quite ready either

Drilling cost so little here and using FSS I guess I might as well drill and if they hit it just drill again mid September

 

[DrWazzock]

Drilling cost so little here and using FSS I guess I might as well drill and if they hit it just drill again mid September

That's right, but for one important consideration.

Once the flea beetles have been drawn in they don't leave, according to the experts, so redrilling later, as I have found, just restocks the buffet for them.

Maybe best hold off till the migration is over and drill into a clean beetle free field later. And hope for a kind Autumn to get the plants big enough to withstand the winter.

A lot depends on the actual weather and not the calendar. By and large I think we drill everything too early and load up on disease and weed pressure too early. January drilled winter wheat was a bumper crop here this year. Made me wonder.

 

[Zippy768]

Drilling cost so little here and using FSS I guess I might as well drill and if they hit it just drill again mid September

Would you not be better trying to get it right first time? Split the difference and drill first week of Sept?

Not drilled here yet. Half of me wants to smack it in mid week, the other half next week

 

[DrWazzock]

It's a dilemma, that's for sure.

 

[Bob lincs]

I’m not going to start drilling my own osr until later next wk . We’re getting both of our nieghbours in and up before we start our own

 

[tepapa]

I know nothing about flea beetle but looking in from the outside. Wouldn't it be an idea to sow fss on fields destined for something else if seed and sowing is cheap. Draw all the beetles to these fields and once the beetles are imobile ,dedicate, and sow it down with the the planned crop. Then sow your osr slightly later In the season once beetles have been drawn to the destroyed crop.

 

[Zippy768]

I know nothing about flea beetle but looking in from the outside. Wouldn't it be an idea to sow fss on fields destined for something else if seed and sowing is cheap. Draw all the beetles to these fields and once the beetles are imobile ,dedicate, and sow it down with the the planned crop. Then sow your osr slightly later In the season once beetles have been drawn to the destroyed crop.

Leaving osr volunteers in osr stubble is a strategy.
The dilemma is timing sowing it early enough so as it will establish enough before winter is avoid damage by other pests (pigeons, slugs) but late enough to avoid the main migration imo

 

[B'o'B]

Migration didn’t end here until mid November last year!

 

[Adeptandy]

Migration didn’t end here until mid November last year!

Same here

 

[Flat 10]

Shot holes here. FSS. I think I will do it’s one and only insecticide this week when I take out hybrid barley volunteers. I would prefer rain and chucking on some AN but feel the barley is going to suck up all the precious moisture.

 

[DrWazzock]

Migration didn’t end here until mid November last year!

So they were flying into previously uninfected areas in November ?

I am tempted to leave the volunteers as a crop then. Seems a shame to rip them up now they have 2 true leaves then fail to establish a fresh crop.

 

[Grass And Grain]

First few seedlings emerging here. Already got shot-holes. Yorkshire, field is next to neighbours rape stubble.

 

[Renaultman]

My first stuff is coming through slowly, some FB damage but a million spiders. At the moment I am watching and hoping. Rain is forecast tomorrow which won't help my harvest but might save my OSR

 

[solo]

Cotyledons here are getting shot holes rapidly on about 1/3 of plants. No osr within about a 3 mile radius and then only a couple of fields. Grew none last year and beginning to wonder if this year may follow suit. Some rain may make a big difference with the warm soil now though.

 

[Billboy1]

Haven’t put mine in yet but flea beatle everywhere on the yard not looking forward to it

 

[Brisel]

Still no fresh damage here. This is a crop of turnips sown 8th August with old damage.

 

[Gong Farmer]

Sample we sent to Rothamsted for testing, from Norfolk trial area, came back 80% resistant to pyrethroids

 

[farenheit]

They have been for several years but some people can't be helped.

And what happens when you spray a population that is mostly resistant? Come on everyone, sing it with me!