Our agronomist is currently scratching his head, we are the last ones round his route yesterday n came wanting to see the rape adamant we would have to spray for pollen better before he even got to the field as everyone else in the area has massive infestation including a neighbours field 10 yards away from our rape... He got to the field checked a few plants maybe one or two beetles per plant.. so this left us wondering why has everyone else in the locality been hit , most of the surronding crops have been put in with a discordon or a trio type machine, ours was put in with a claydon and a companion of vetch and buckwheat, that's the only difference. Would the companion have attracted enough beneficals to help reduce pollen beetle so dramitcally or could it just simply be luck that when all around us have been badly hit n we seem to be escaping for the moment.
Pollen beetle
- Thread starter juke
- Start date
- Location
- Foothills of the Quantocks
It's quite possible that the companion crop/DD has helped.
Keep in mind that the beneficials that control most pests aren't just the predators that you can see; nematodes, parasitoids, microsporidia, and pathogenic fungi all have a part to play in control.
Keep in mind that the beneficials that control most pests aren't just the predators that you can see; nematodes, parasitoids, microsporidia, and pathogenic fungi all have a part to play in control.
yellow belly
Member
- Location
- south west lincolnshire
this year rape has gone from green bud to flowering very quickly the damage from pollen beetle only cost when flowering is slow from green but to flowering with warm temps to get them going
once a few plants are yellow spraying just make next year problem bigger as you kill all the good guys and the pollen beetle that are resistent take over
once a few plants are yellow spraying just make next year problem bigger as you kill all the good guys and the pollen beetle that are resistent take over