Vining pea growers have a new weapon in their armoury to defend against pea midge attack this season now that deltamethrin-based insecticide decis Protech has been approved for control of the pest.
PGRO's technical director Anthony Biddle says that although pea midge is a very localised pest, principally affecting growers in Yorkshire and Humberside, that does not make it insignificant. In his experience, where it does occur damage can be serious, slashing a crop's yield potential in half.
In last year's PGRO trials, one spray of decis Protech reduced damage from 43% to 10%. Dr Biddle says these results put its performance on a par with Hallmark Zeon which to date has been the only treatment available.
Pea midge attack typically occurs in the second half of June when crops reach the enclosed bud stage. The result is a significant reduction in pod formation. "The precise timing varies from year to year", Dr Biddle adds; "but pheromone trap monitoring helps growers pinpoint the best time for spraying and reduce the amount of routine applications."
In company trials conducted in partnership with the JSR Farming Group in North Yorkshire two sprays of decis Protech increased pod number by 16% over untreated areas. By comparison areas treated with Hallmark Zeon showed a 9% increase.
Bob Fitzgerald, Bayer's commercial technical manager in Yorkshire, says these trials demonstrate the kind of results local growers, who account for 15% to 20% of the vining pea crop, can expect. "Applying it in a tank-mix with half rate pirimicarb will also extend control to cover pea aphid", he adds; "which is often a target pest for growers at the same time as pea midge."
Following PSD's approval of decis Protech for pea midge control, use of this water-based formulation is supported by the Bird's Eye growers' 2004 list of approved products. This season it is available from crop protection specialists UAP, Hutchinson's and Banks Cargill Agriculture.
