Tag Archives: crop protection

Mechanical weed control shows promise in Canada

Faced with increasing numbers of herbicide-resistant weeds, Canadian farmers on the Prairies are tuning back to mechanical weed control, but rather than hoeing or cultivation, they are looking at clipping weeds to prevent seed formation.

A new project at the University of Saskatchewan is evaluating in-crop weed clipping as a method for weed control, with the objective of developing a strategy to reduce weed seed production: reducing the seed bank in the soil to reduce future infestations.

“The main applications for weed clipping are to lower populations of herbicide-resistant weeds that have escaped herbicide application, and to reduce weed populations in organic systems,” says Lena Syrovy, a research assistant at the Agronomy and Weed Ecology Lab at the University of Saskatchewan. She points out that the weed must be taller than the crop and produce most of its seeds above the crop canopy.

The research team is currently using a CombCut machine from European manufacturer Just Common Sense, but Syrovy added: “I’ve talked to growers who are modifying their swathers to clip weeds above the crop canopy.” Canadian manufacturer Bourgault has also recently launched its BTT weed clipper.

Photo Caption: Combcut machine in operation

Photo Credit: YouTube / Just Common Sense AB

The post Mechanical weed control shows promise in Canada appeared first on Hort News on 26 April 2018.

New EU guidance on potato tuber pest

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Plant Health has categorised the Guatemalan potato tuber moth (Tecia solanivora (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)) as a Union quarantine pest for the EU.

  1. solanivora, which feeds exclusively on Solanum tuberosum, was first described in Costa Rica in 1973 and has spread through Central and northern South America via the trade in seed potatoes. It has also spread to Mexico, the Canary Islands and mainland Spain where it is under official control in Galicia and Asturias.
  2. solanivora is currently regulated by Council Directive 2000/29/EC, listed in Annex II/AI as Scrobipalpopsis solanivora. Larvae feed and develop within potato tubers; infested tubers therefore provide a pathway for pest introduction and spread, as does the soil accompanying potato tubers if it is infested with eggs or pupae.

Defra has published a fact sheet on the Guatemalan potato tuber moth, but EFSA points out that there are uncertainties over the effectiveness of preventing illegal imports via passenger baggage and the magnitude of potential impacts in the cool EU climate.

Photo Credit: Cornell University

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Are dogs the future of pest detection?

Large Canadian greenhouse grower NatureFresh™ Farms has adopted a novel approach to pest management: using a Belgian Shepherd dog named Chili to identify the first signs of infestation.

The move came following an outbreak of Pepper Weevil (Anthonomus eugenii) in the autumn of 2016. Due to the nature of the pest, it cannot be spotted by humans and, once an outbreak is established, no available biological control methods are capable of controlling the pest.

Cam Lyons, Research and Development and IPM Technician comments, “Dogs are a very intelligent animal. Many worker dogs are trained to recognize and discover scents associated with drugs or bombs, so it seemed possible to train a dog to recognize pepper weevil.”

After research, the company adopted 15-month old Chili who underwent 8 weeks of training before being certified by The American Working Dog Association. This certification allows Chili to work in the farm without any food safety concerns. When Chili detects the scent of Pepper Weevil she will sit and stare at the location of the pest.

Peter Quiring, NatureFresh™ Farms Owner and CEO, added, “In order to continue to grow it is essential to develop new strategies and look beyond conventional methods. We encourage our team to think outside the box and test any ideas they may have; no idea is considered too crazy.”

Photo Caption: Cam Lyons, IPM scout and dog handler Tina Heide, and Chili.

Photo Credit: NatureFresh Farms

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Dow and DuPont complete merger

Multinational chemical companies Dow and DuPont have finalised their $130 billion merger, with the new company, DowDuPont trading on the New York Stock Exchange from 1 September.

“Today marks a significant milestone in the storied histories of our two companies,” said Andrew Liveris, executive chairman of DowDuPont. “While our collective heritage and strength are impressive, the true value of this merger lies in the intended creation of three industry powerhouses that will define their markets and drive growth for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

The company’s Board has established three Advisory Committees to oversee the establishment of each of the new Agriculture, Materials Science (Dow) and Specialty Products divisions in preparation for separation into separate companies. The proposed agricultural company will combine the activities of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences. According to DowDuPont, ‘The combined capabilities and highly productive innovation engine will enable the intended Agriculture Company to bring a broader suite of products to the market faster, so it can be an even better partner to growers, delivering innovation and helping them to increase their productivity and profitability.’

Photo Caption: Andrew Liveris is the new CEO of the combined company

Photo Credit: Dow

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New fears over use of sulphur for crop protection

A new study has linked the spraying of elemental sulphur for crop protection with asthma and breathing difficulties.

The chemical, which is widely used of strawberries to control mildew and other fungal diseases, is currently approved for use on organic crops as it is deemed to be a ‘natural’ substance. However, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley who studied children living in the Salinas area of California found a link between lung function, more asthma-related symptoms and higher asthma medication use in children living less than a mile from recent elemental sulphur applications compared to unexposed children.

Co-author of the study, Asa Bradman, associate director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at Berkeley’s School of Public Health, said, “Sulphur is widely used because it is effective and low in toxicity to people.

“It is naturally present in our food and soil and is part of normal human biochemistry, but breathing in sulphur dust can irritate airways and cause coughing. We need to better understand how people are exposed to sulphur used in agriculture and how to mitigate exposures. Formulations using wettable powders could be a solution.”

 Photo Caption: Researchers studied children living in California’s Salinas Valley.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Adding silicon to soil to strengthen plant defences

Researchers at the University of Delaware and the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University in Australia are examining the addition of silicon to soil to help strengthen plants against potential predators.

By amending the soil with silica, a form of silicon that plants can easily take up, in trials the researchers helped plants build up tiny particles called phytoliths, or ‘plant stones,’ to defend against herbivorous insects and possibly rodents.

“The plant builds up these sorts of stones in its tissues, which will reduce the digestibility of the plant material because digesting stones is not very easy,” said Ivan Hiltpold of the University of Delaware. “Also, these stones wear the mouth parts of insects and possibly rodents. If your teeth are not really cutting any more, then you cannot eat as much as you could. All of that added together will reduce the impact of herbivory on the plant.”

In experiments with sugarcane grown in a greenhouse, the researchers found that high levels of silicon concentrations decreased the growth of root-feeding insects and root consumption, the latter by 71 per cent. Because the silicon doesn’t affect grazing livestock, it also will affect humans when, for example, a person consumes boiled carrots or sweet corn.

The option of using silicon to naturally strengthen a plant’s defences could be both environmentally friendly and economically attractive to growers, as they would not have to spray as much to protect their crops.

Photo Credit: Jeff Chase/ University of Delaware

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New mating disruption technique offers hope for Tuta absoluta control

Trials funded by AHDB Horticulture have discovered a synthetic sex pheromone that confuses male Tuta absoluta moths so they can’t find females to mate with. The chemical, Isonet-T, offers new hope to commercial tomato growers for control of the devastating pest.

In the trials the mating disruption technique led to complete population control with no visible crop damage during the first 22 weeks when placed amongst plants on arrival in glasshouses. At the same time, growers adapting the research for their own trials also experienced exceptional results with pest population growth stopping immediately.

Richard Bezemer, Cleveland Nurseries, who participated in the trials said, “We experienced severe Tuta absoluta populations in 2016 for the first time. The trials have been so successful in our nursery that we now believe we are completely free of the pest and the cost of the pheromone off-set investment in other control products.”

Gracie Emeny, knowledge exchange manager at AHDB Horticulture, added, “We thought Tuta absoluta was under control but it came back with a vengeance in the 2016 season after developing resistance to one of the key plant protection products used in integrated pest management programmes. This is a brilliant breakthrough for the industry but we would stress the need for careful use to make sure this control option stays available to growers for the long term.”

Further work is now underway at University of Exeter, to study the impact of the technique on female moth reproduction.

Photo Caption: Tuta absoluta

Photo Credit: Rob Jackson / AHDB Horticulture

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Combating weeds with lasers

Researchers from the University of Bonn in Germany are working in a system which would automatically identify weeds and then destroy them using a short laser pulse.

Dr. Julio Pastrana and Tim Wigbels from the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation at the University of Bonn are currently developing a novel system which uses cameras on an all-terrain robot vehicle, or which could be mounted on a tractor add-on. They say that unwanted weed species should be automatically identified in a variety of crops and treated in a targeted way.

“The robot shoots the leaves of the unwanted plants with short laser pulses, which causes a weakening in their vitality,” reports Dr. Pastrana.

“We predict that we will no longer need to use herbicides on our fields and the environment will be protected,” adds Wigbels. “It is now a case of finding investors and further developing the business plan for the start-up.”

The researchers are now developing a new start-up company ‘Escarda Technologies’ for one year at the University of Bonn with an EXIST grant from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and the researchers are also using the funding to buy the parts needed to construct a prototype.

Photo Caption: Tim Wigbels (left) and Dr. Julio Pastrana (right) with their weed recognition software which is detecting a plant and how the laser system is shooting and damage its foliage.

Photo Credit: Volker Lannert/Uni Bonn

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PGRO offers rapid clubroot test

PGRO is now offering commercial growers an early indication of clubroot risk to brassica crops including vegetables and oilseed rape.

“PGRO is offering a rapid molecular test for the detection and quantification of the brassica clubroot pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae in the soil that can be used as a risk assessment tool by growers,” says Roger Vickers, PGRO’s Chief Executive. “The test is proving invaluable to close rotation intensive vegetable producers as well as to growers of oilseed rape – which is the most commonly grown brassica crop in the UK.

“Clubroot infection can cause significant, or even complete, crop losses when infection is severe, and is exacerbated by close rotations. Plasmodiophora brassicae can persist in soils for at least 15 years so cannot be managed practically by extending rotations.”

Dr Lea Herold, PGRO Plant Pathologist explains that the test, which was first launched last summer, determines the number of pathogen resting spores per gram of soil. “The higher the numbers of spores per gram soil the higher the risk of disease development,” she says. “Growers receive a risk indicator for their soil, with the level of risk defined on a 1-3 scale (slight, moderate or severe) according to infection levels identified as set out in AHDB Horticulture Project CP 099a.”

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Free summer school for aspiring crop protection students

BBSRC is funding a week long Crop Protection Summer School (CROPPS) in July at Harper Adams University for undergraduates in their first or second year at universities in the UK or Ireland.

There are 15 places available on the course, in which participants will be able to immerse themselves in the areas of entomology, plant pathology, weed science, nematology, applied ecology, fieldwork and networking.

Professor Simon Leather, one of the event organisers, said, “Each day during the week we’ll be looking at a different aspect related to crop protection. There’ll be a large emphasis on practical experience; going out into the field and doing practical lab work. There’ll be some lecture-style sessions, but the majority will be hands-on.”

There are just 15 places available and the deadline for applications is 7 April 2017. The application form can be found here. For more information, contact sleather@harper-adams.ac.uk.

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