Wheat Bulb fly plant invasion started
This weeks Dow AgroSciences Pestwatch report shows that Wheat Bulb fly egg-hatch is still progressing in East Anglia and Lincolnshire and that there has been some initial plant invasion at the Suffolk and Lincolnshire sites. There has been no egg-hatch at the Yorkshire site or in Scotland as yet. It is anticipated that egg hatch will progress even more rapidly once the cold snap is over.
Issued weekly by Dow AgroSciences and ADAS, Pestwatch reports on the results of soil sampling at a number of sites across the UK and provide advice on the timely application of the soil insecticide Dursban WG. Week-ending the 2nd February 2012, Wheat Bulb fly egg-hatch in Suffolk was reported to be 38.5%, in Cambridgeshire/Hertfordshire on mineral soils was 28.3%, North Lincolnshire (a new site for 2012) on mineral soils 7.43% and in Cambridgeshire on organic land was 29.1%.
Sarah Hurry of Dow AgroSciences explains that fields at risk, particularly in East Anglia and Lincolnshire, may need treatment with Dursban WG (chlorpyrifos) at the first opportunity as tiller survival is important. “This application should be active for 5 to 6 weeks on mineral soils. Dursban WG can be applied to frosty ground, but should not be tank-mixed. Avoid applications to frozen soil where rain could result in run-off to water courses.
An interval of 14 days needs to be observed between applications of Dursban WG and GF-2070 or Broadway Star, regardless of weather conditions. For approved formulations of iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium and mesosulfuron-methyl, a longer interval of 4 weeks is required for crop safety reasons.
As part of the industry Stewardship initiative â€" “Say NO to drift!-â€growers must take precautions to prevent drift by using low drift nozzles and an extended buffer zone when applying Dursban WG. This initiative has the aim of protecting future availability and use of insecticides containing chlorpyrifos. When spraying Dursban WG for Wheat Bulb fly, growers must use a LERAP rated 3 star nozzle and adopt a 20 metre buffer zone near to watercourses or a 1 metre near to dry ditches.
