A call has been put out for growers who are interested in getting involved in Teagasc’s aphid monitoring network. Louise McNamara made the request at a recent National Tillage Conference.
Three aphid monitoring towers have been erected by Teagasc in Carlow, Dublin and Cork since 2020.
A fourth tower is planned for north Leinster, and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute also has a tower in its research centre in Co Down, Northern Ireland.
The towers are 12.2m in height and suck in passing insects on a daily basis. The insects are then stored in collection jars before being separated, identified and tested for BYDV.
These towers are assisting to understand BYDV transmission and improving integrated pest management practices for aphid control.
Teagasc is now looking to expand its sampling capabilities and is seeking growers to help do it. The venture also aims to gather infield data, which will be collected through specific insect traps and visual crop walking.
Information received from fields will be compared with data gathered from the different monitoring points. Overall the intent is to improve the advice and information Teagasc can give to farmers.
To host aphid traps in both your spring barley and winter barley crops this season, e-mail Louise.mcnamara@teagasc.ie.
LSL News.