Risks to Oilseed rape (OSR)

Each year up to 76% of the OSR crop is affected by cabbage stem flea beetle damage. The crop is most vulnerable to adult CSFB damage at the early stages of emergence as the beetles can feed on and destroy the growing point of the plant.

Crops drilled into dry soil conditions can cause the newly drilled crop to emerge slower and thus be more susceptible to crop damage from this pest. If the damage is severe, the seedlings can be affected even before they emerge. The overall effects cause stunting of the plant, poor plant vigour and in some cases total plant loss.

There is some confirmation of pyrethroid resistant CSFB populations now being present in the UK. Monitoring must now be a key component in Integrated Pest Management for UK growers of oilseeds.

Risks to salad crops

Salad growers in the UK face challenges from damage caused to their crops by the transmission of viruses from aphids and from insect feeding damage. There is also additional risk of reputational damage to growers if the final product is found to contain insects. These challenges are having a significant impact across the industry leading to AHDB including the control of insect pests as one of the priority areas in their Leafy Salads Strategy.

Aphid transmitted viruses and feeding damage have a significant impact on the industry. Insects found in the final product can lead to reputation damage as customers demand perfection from purchased produce.

Risks to seed potatoes and vegetables 

Potato viruses Y and A (PVY and PVA) are serious threats to the quality of seed potatoes. About 40 aphid species transmit PVY and PVA with varying efficiency. The presence of aphids and aphid virus transmission are also a problem for vegetable and salad growers. Aphid-transmitted viruses can be particularly problematic in carrot crops.

Monitoring also help you assess the risk of spread of PVY, and you can take this into account when considering the best time to burn down your crop, maximising your yield without risking the virus health of the seed. Gathering information on the potential quality of home saved seed gives you the opportunity to avoid the expense involved in buying-in classified seed potatoes.

Fera's Insect Monitoring Service uses yellow water traps to attract aphids which you then send to us for analysis, allowing us to tell you which species are present in the field and if your potato crop is at risk.

We also provide the national yellow water trap aphid monitoring programme for AHDB-Potatoes.

Aphid Monitoring

The Aphid Monitoring service provides information specifically for your field to assess the risk of virus transmission, enabling better targeting of aphicide applications and other crop management interventions.

Insect monitoring provides you with the information you need to assess the risk of virus transmission specifically for your field. You can use this information in a number of ways to help you to reduce virus transmission and increase the value of your crop:

Money & time efficiency

Reduce and better target aphicide applications saving you money and time.

Effective management

Demonstrate good management practices helping you meet your customers' needs.

Crop preservations

Optimally time haulm destruction to preserve the value of your crop.

Profit maximisation

Assess the potential of home-saved seed potatoes and maximise profit the following year.

Strategic inputs

Fast results for targeted inputs.

Providing necessary equipment

We send you all the equipment that is needed, including water trap, sample pots and return envelopes. It takes just a few minutes to collect the sample. Your results, including a cumulative risk index, are sent to you by email or fax - your choice. You will receive your results the same day we receive your sample. Costs per site are around £526 for a ten week growing season.

Invertebrate Pests & Novel Control

Our world-leading research provides practical solutions to the key pest challenges facing the agriculture, horticulture and forestry industries. Our expertise can assist you from early stage pre-commercialisation research, through the preparation of registration dossiers, to product stewardship. Our unique selling point stems from our interdisciplinary approaches and access to specialist facilities that ensure that our customers achieve the required solutions.

Major customers include Defra, Levy bodies, other government departments and the European Commission. We also undertake bespoke studies and services for commercial customers.