Main Content

New orange wheat blossom midge guidelines launched

New orange wheat blossom midge guidelines launched
HGCA has published updated guidelines for the assessment and control of orange wheat blossom midge. The new leaflet includes a decision table based on revised thresholds to help growers decide when to start treating against the pest.
"The difference in the guidelines is that the threshold for monitoring has been revised into a two-tiered system based on pheromone trap catches," said Jemilah Bailey, HGCA's Research Manager. "Catches over 120 per day mean a high risk to crops and growers need to spray crops at susceptible growth stage as soon as possible. If 30 or more midges are caught in a day then there is a general risk to crops and numbers need to be monitored."
The action threshold for assessing wheat ears in the field remains the same with over one midge on three ears of feed wheat, or six ears of milling crops resulting in the need to treat the field.
Traps should be put in place a few days before the earliest wheat crops reach the ear emergence stage and kept in place until the latest crops reach the flowering stage.
"Variety choice must be based on market demand but resistant varieties may ease management in remote fields that are difficult to monitor and treat, or in crops close to housing," said Jemilah Bailey. "Resistant varieties on the HGCA Recommended Lists are Gatsby, Glasgow, Oakley, Qplus, Robigus, Scout and Viscount. Resistant varieties will not require spraying against orange wheat blossom midge and so a healthy population of natural predators can be maintained in the crop."
Growers are warned that if crops need treating, correct insecticide timing is critical. Any wrongly applied chemical will do more damage than good by killing beneficial species.
For further information, see the HGCA guide 'Orange wheat blossom midge - assessment and control' which is available on the HGCA website here.

Release date: 8 May 2009

For further information contact:
Jemilah Bailey, HGCA Research Manager, 020 7520 3982 jemilah.bailey@hgca.com
Madeleine Archer, HGCA Press Officer, 020 7520 3926 madeleine.archer@hgca.com

 

Latest News

-