Flea beetle alert

12 October 2001




Flea beetle alert

WATCH out for cabbage stem flea beetle larvae on oilseed rape and be prepared to treat with a long-lasting insecticide such as Contest (alphacypermethrin) if 70% of leaf petioles are damaged or there are at least five larvae a plant, warns BASF.

Uncontrolled larvae make crops more susceptible to phoma and frost damage, and the problem could be worse this season, says the firms John Stevenson. "Its my impression that there were not many treatments earlier on at establishment." &#42


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