NIAB - National Institute of Agricultural Botany
Plant Science Into Practice
Control of Bean Seed Beetle
Integrated Control of Bean Seed Beetle, Bruchus rufimanus
Contact : Donal O'Sullivan
Current control practices are not effective in reducing damage by bean seed beetle and there is a large gap in the knowledge regarding the biology and behaviour of the pest in locating host crops and oviposition during the critical flowering and pod forming stages in early summer. Current recommendations are based on insecticide sprays applied during flowering, and a lack of precision in the timing of sprays is resulting in an increase in the number of spray applications being made to crops which in turn increases the risk of pesticide resistance. The project will improve this situation by using a pheromone/semio-chemical system for monitoring and risk assessment as part of an integrated control method and will provide a more sustainable longer-term approach to IPM which would include resistant or tolerant varieties.
Main Objectives:
- To advance the knowledge of the biology of Bruchus rufimanus and to identify features in its life cycle and behaviour.
- To improve the efficacy of existing insecticides targeting adult beetles and investigate the potential of alternative chemicals targeting eggs and larvae.
- To develop a monitoring system based on species specific sex pheromones or plant volatile mixtures for bruchid attraction and a prediction model to optimise insecticide applications.
- To investigate naturally occurring variation in bruchid susceptibility of UK bean varieties and breeding lines from UK and international germplasm collections.
Funding: Defra Sustainable Arable LINK-funded project
Collaborating Organizations: Academic: PGRO, Rothamsted Research, and Industry (PGRO, HDC, Bayer Crop Science, Syngenta Crop Protection, Wherry and Sons, Oecos Ltd., Nickerson-Advanta, CPB-Twyford, Velcourt Ltd, Raynham Farms Ltd, Frontier Agriculture).