Canadian scientists recommend management strategies on back of latest findings.
CANADIAN researchers have developed management strategies to help growers tackle wireworm without the use of pesticides.
A team at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has been studying wireworm behavior to see how they move around in soil and burrow in the winter. Team leader Christine Noronha said: “Many insecticides we’ve studied are inefficient at controlling wireworm populations to reduce damage to potatoes and growers have requested more alternative management strategies that help suppress these pests.”
Spring ploughing, use of rotational crops and baiting have all been investigated by the team.
Christine said it’s advisable not to plant in fileds that were in continuous sod for many years. She recommended buckwheat or brown mustard as bio-fumigants, and to plant these at least one or two seasons prior to potato planting. Whether these are harvested or just incorporated back into the soil is down to grower choice.
The researchers discovered that wireworm can travel long distances in search of potato roots. In Canada, the best time to bait is May or June and from mid-September to mid-October when there is more active foraging.
Wireworms spend winters deep in the soil, where they are better protected from low temperatures and have been proven to survive temperatures of -12 deg C, she added.
Photo: Eva Bronzini
