ICMslugbusting best approach

12 October 2001

ICMslugbusting best approach

By Wendy Owen

North-east correspondent

MINIMUM tillage and regular muck applications should be a recipe for slug hell, particularly during this autumns slug-friendly conditions

But integrated crop management means control can be achieved with a significant cut in pellet use, says Philip Huxtable, arable director of the Driffield-based JSR Group.

"Careful seed-bed preparation is the most effective weapon against slug damage and we have had fewer crop losses since the farms stopped using power harrows and opted for minimal tillage cultivations," he says.

"Power harrows create a fluffy, cloddy seedbed which slugs love. To restrict movement through the soil, we use a Simba Solo, followed by the drill and some very firm rolling to make a fine, well-consolidated seed-bed."

Traps are routinely baited to check fields with a slug history or if there is shredding on an emerging crop, particularly during wet periods.

Distinguishing between the three main types of slug and understanding their breeding habits helps tailor control, says Mr Huxtable. Grey field slugs breed throughout the year, but he recommends autumn action, when young adults are maturing.

Black garden slugs are found mainly in cereal headlands so are not considered a significant threat. Even when they attack a crop they often congregate in isolated patches, which can be patch treated.

The keeled slug is best tackled when adults come to the surface to breed in June and July.

His preferred pellet choice is the 4% thiodicarb stomach poison as Genesis or Judge. The 12mg Genesis pellets are comparatively large, which can be an advantage, says Mr Huxtable.

"The larger pellets remain intact for longer and persistence is important to catch the next generations hatch. Their weight gives a more even distribution through our 24 metre Stocks Fanjet spreaders and helps pellets fall through the canopy to the ground, where slugs are feeding."

But smaller pellets can also be useful. "Judge is smaller and lighter and I would use it to tackle a localised slug problem, which requires a higher number of baiting points per square metre."

If applied properly the chemical will not deter natural predators like hedgehogs, birds and ground beetles, says supplier Aventis CropScience, which shuns the little and often approach favoured by some farmers. "A balanced treatment is needed," says product manager, Dr Alison Daniels. &#42

"To measure a products efficiency look at plant damage, rather than counting dead slugs on the soil surface, because most dying slugs go underground," she adds.

ICMprinciples keep slugs at bay despite min-till and heavy manure at JSRFarms, say arable director Philip Huxtable and Alison Daniels of Aventis.

Product prices

Typical price £/ha at label rate

Metarex 18.64

Genesis 18.50

Draza 20.13

Rivet 21.75

Decoy Wetex 22.20

Source: Independent survey

SLUGSLAYING

&#8226 Create firm seedbed.

&#8226 Trap-bait.

&#8226 Recognise species.

&#8226 Target control measures.