New collaborative research to level-up CSFB control

A major new project will take cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) management in winter oilseed rape (OSR) to the next level, thanks to a collaborative AHDB research project.

CSFB Research+ will evaluate the field performance of novel control products, improve guidance on cultural control measures, fine-tune understanding of CSFB development, generate data on natural enemies and prime innovation in CSFB management.

Running for nearly five years, the work builds on a long-term series of AHDB- and Defra-funded projects that has dramatically improved understanding of the pest’s life cycle, crop risk factors and effective cultural control strategies.

It also underpinned the release of a top 10 list of CSFB management strategies earlier this year.

Sacha White, AHDB Lead Crop Protection Scientist, said:

“Faced with a lack of chemistry and insecticide resistance challenges, confidence and commitment to OSR has waned, with the UK shifting from a net exporter to a net importer in recent years.

“This new research partnership project brings together passionate and knowledgeable people from across the industry – spanning farmer cooperatives, input specialists, grain merchants, food producers and applied researchers – to co-design activity that puts CSFB control firmly back into the hands of farmers.”

The partnership includes some of the finest applied research organisations in England (where the pest is most problematic): ADAS, NIAB and Rothamsted Research.

Featuring numerous field trials and assessments, the research will:

• Examine the field performance of novel CSFB control products, such as novel insecticides/seed treatments, botanical biopesticides, entomopathogenic nematodes and synergists
• Extend the availability of cultural control methods, including the use of OSR stubble cultivation to disrupt soil-dwelling CSFB pupae and brassicas in cover crops to lure beetles away from OSR cash crops
• Improve understanding of CSFB traits to target cultural, biological and chemical control, including studying how environmental conditions influence CSFB development and migration
• Study the two main parasitoids of CSFB: Microctonus brassicae and Tersilochus microgaster (with a focus on the former), including how to encourage them
• Work in partnership to co-design activities that target research and knowledge exchange, create spaces for innovation and maximise value to levy payers

The project represents our largest single investment in CSFB research, with a total project value nudging £750,000. A third of this investment is from cash and in-kind contributions from an extensive network of project partners.

A wide range of communication channels will be used to promote results to levy payers throughout the project.

Project activity will be badged under the CSFB Research+ banner to maximise visibility and to help put CSFB knowledge into practice.

For the latest project information, visit ahdb.org.uk/csfb-research (or search for ‘CSFB Research+’).

Providing answers to your questions

This research project was funded via a levy-payer-led commissioning process.