United Kingdom
June 19, 2013
Rising temperatures have triggered BruchidCast warnings of pest activity in bean crops this week. Growers in danger zones with crops at around first pod set stage are advised to treat as soon as possible.
Most bean crops are currently two to three weeks behind normal, creating a risk of a protracted flowering and prolonged exposure to bruchid beetle attack this season. The Syngenta/PGRO BruchidCast system gives a valuable early warning of potential pest activity, to enable better timing of Hallmark Zeon treatments and prevent damage to beans.
PGRO agronomist, Becky Ward, reported many winter bean crops were at the most susceptible first pod set, whilst still showing plenty of flowers to attract beetles. Spring bean crops were also coming well into flower, at a time when beetle activity was still high.
“Our traps have been catching bruchid beetle in crops for several weeks. As temperatures rise beetles will become more active and start to lay their eggs on pods; we see two consecutive days of over 20°C at first pod set as being the trigger for high risk.
“Growers should be looking to make a first application when local conditions pinpoint a risk, repeated seven to 10 days later to disrupt the beetles’ breeding cycle,” she advised. “If conditions remain hot and the crop is still susceptible to attack, a third application may be required.” Once plants finish flowering they are less attractive to bruchid and should be relatively safe, she added.
BruchidCast is available free to all bean growers and agronomists registered on the Syngenta website - www.syngenta.co.uk - and with information provided by the PGRO Bulletin. The Syngenta website also gives an allied five-day Spray Window Forecast, enabling growers to pick the best conditions for application to target pests more effectively and minimise the damaging effects on bean crops.
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