Written by cpm
Download PDF While oilseed rape crops are more than likely to be besieged by ‘the beetle’, given the right conditions slugs can be just as dangerous during establishment. CPM looks at balancing risk with IPM. Nobody wants prophylactic applications of molluscicides. By Lucy de la Pasture and Rob Jones Researchers at Harper Adams University and in a collaboration between CHAP and the Small Robot company envisage a future where slugs are targeted by precision-applied control agents, but until their work bears fruit, bait trapping and soil mapping remain the IPM essentials. Slugs would not have enjoyed the extremely dry spring in 2020, with unfavourable conditions seeing the pest retreat down the soil profile. Newcastle University’s slug expert Gordon Port says a regular input of rain in most regions during late June and into July has seen slug activity increase again ahead of oilseed rape drilling – a crop that is particularly vulnerable to damage early on. “Unfortunately, slugs never go away. If recent rainfall patterns continue, despite the dry spring I think we’ll end up with a relatively ‘normal’ year in terms of slug pressure. However the only real test is to go out and trap,” he says. The biggest…
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