Written by cpm
Download PDF For many growers the writing is on the wall for oilseed rape unless cultural controls can be developed to limit cabbage stem flea beetle damage. CPM discovers how research to find an IPM approach is being speeded up by a massive collaboration across the industry. There’s no quick fix for CSFB so we have to learn how to live with the problem. By Lucy de la Pasture Cabbage stem flea beetle has dominated the news for the past few seasons and the race is on to try and find a solution and keep oilseed rape as a viable break crop in the rotation. In the process it has quickly become clear that there’s a fundamental gap in knowledge about the phenology of the pest – information about the lifecycle and its behaviour that could help find its weak spot. Monitoring shows adult numbers were as high this autumn as in 2019 but damage was generally not as great, reflecting better soil conditions during establishment. Until now the research has been fragmented but recognising that a more collaborative approach may be more efficient, AHDB have instigated a new CSFB project. It aims to plug the gaps in the biology…
The post Theory to Field – Living with the enemy appeared first on cpm magazine.
Continue reading on CPM website...
If you are enjoying what you read then why not considering subscribing:
