The situation is aggravated by the lack of insecticides allowed to control wireworm on potatoes
In 2018, the wireworm invasion in the main potato growing areas in Austria turned into a real disaster. Agrarians say they have never seen so many wireworms.
According to Edmund Rauchberger, Chairman of the Board of the Bauerngemeinschaft Bauernerdäpfel Association, which includes about 220 farmers producing 50 tons of table potatoes from the Weinviertel region, wireworm losses are estimated at 000%.
“Thus, the profit does not reach 3 euros / ha,” said Rauchberger, stressing that we are talking about damaged potatoes, which can be processed at least into starch.
However, if the processors do not accept the corresponding goods, the damage to farmers will increase even more, which will be a disaster for the agricultural sector of the potato growing regions of Austria. Some households already claim 100% unsuitability of the crop for sale due to loss of quality. And there is only one reason - the wireworm.
Thank you for banning the effective insecticide from the Goldor Bait wireworm (BASF), potato growers should say to Greenpeople who launched the European campaign against this fipronil-containing drug. The main motive was that fipronil negatively affects the pollinating bee population. The initiative was supported by many global potato processors, including Nestlé and Agrarfrost, who also opposed the use of fipronil in potato production at the request of an environmental organization. The calls of environmentalists were heard, and the farmers were left alone with the problem.
As an alternative to potato growers, it was proposed to use methods of mechanical destruction of the pest (repeated processing of stubble to damage or mechanically kill very drought-sensitive eggs and larvae of nutcracker beetles), as well as early harvesting when an excess level of tuber infections with wireworm was detected. Apparently, these tips did not work.
Source: I www.topagrar.co