How to monitor for key pests and beneficials

Resource explained

With the reduction in availability of key inputs, the need for integrated pest management (IPM) has become even more important. But, do you know which and how many pollinators and beneficials you are encouraging on your farm? This webinar, chaired by AHDB’s Richard Meredith, and recorded as part of AHDB Strategic Farm Week 2020, looks at how to set up, monitor, analyse and use information collected from on-farm pitfall traps and sticky traps. Strategic Cereal Farmer Rob Fox (from Squab Hall Farm in Warwickshire) was joined by Crop Protection Scientist Mark Ramsden (ADAS) and AHDB’s Senior Knowledge Transfer Manager Emily Pope. They talked us through measuring aphids, cabbage stem flea beetle, and slugs and their natural enemies on the farm.

Findings & recommendations

• AHDB Strategic Farm Week 2020 was dedicated to communicating the latest results and information from AHDB’s Strategic Cereal Farms.
• You can view slides from the webinar, an accompanying handout, a practical guide to insect monitoring, and details of an aphid survey you can contribute to that will help build a national picture of numbers of aphids and natural enemies via the Strategic Farm Week 2020 link.