Soft Fruit Experiments 2014 - hdc.org.uk Erika Wedgwood SCEPTRE.pdf · Soft Fruit Experiments 2014 ... disease & weeds of field vegetables, protected edibles, soft & top fruit) ...

Soft Fruit Experiments 2014

Background to SCEPTRE (2010-2014)

• Loss of, & future threats to, actives

• Need for food security

• Requirement to identify other effective & crop safe actives including biopesticides (against key pests, disease & weeds of field vegetables, protected edibles, soft & top fruit)

• Opportunities from new technologies

• Contributing control methods for use in further development of sustainable integrated crop management systems

Consortium members

H & H Duncalfe

Soft fruit experiments in SCEPTRE 2014

• Spur blight (raspberry)

• Crown rot (strawberry)

• Powdery mildew (strawberry)

• Aphids (raspberry)

• European tarnished plant bug (strawberry)

• Herbicides (newly-planted strawberries / runner control)

• Electrical weeding (blackcurrants)

Spur blight

Crown rot

Control of Spur blight of raspberry Expt. 2.1Angela Berrie and Robert Saville, EMR

• Raspberries cv. Glen Ample & Octavia

• Product choice assisted by in vitro fungicide testing (2012)

• Products applied preventatively at end of October 2014

- 1 standard = Folicur, tebuconazole, & 8 other fungicides (applied once)

- 5 Biofungicides (applied twice)

• Spur blight, Didymella applanata, inoculation using spreader plants assisted by overhead irrigation

• Spring 2015 assessment for stem lesions and emergence

Raspberry pots prior to preventative fungicide treatments (plus untreated). 4 reps

Control of Crown rot of strawberry Expt. 2.2Angela Berrie and Robert Saville, EMR

• Phytophthora cactorum on strawberry cv. Malling Opal

• Fungicides & biofungicides selected from 2012 trial

• Application methods tested starting on 20 May 2014;

- Pre-plant dip - Post-plant drench- Spray

• P. cactorum-inoculated plants planted 2 per bag as spreaders on 12 June

Strawberry grow bags with 20 plants/plot. 4 replicates

Treat-ment

Product name or

code

Diseased plants introduced 12 June 2014

MAY JUNE JULY

20th 27th 3rd 10th 17th 24th 1st 8th

1 &2 Untreated

3 Paraat Pre-plant

4 Paraat Drench

5 Paraat Spray

6 Fenomenal Pre-plant

7 Fenomenal Drench

8 Fenomenal Spray

9 STR-24 Pre-plant

10 STR-24 Drench

11 STR-24 Spray

12 STR-23 Pre-plant

13 STR-23 Drench

14 STR-23 Spray

Application methods & timings for chemical fungicides against Crown rot Expt. 2.2

Chemical fungicides: single (preventative) applications made by one of three methods per treatmentParaat = dimethomorph, Fenomenal = fenamidone + fosetyl-aluminium

Treat-ment

Product name or

code

Diseased strawberry plants introduced 12 June 2014

MAY JUNE JULY

20th 27th 3rd 10th 17th 24th 1st 8th

1 &2 Untreated

3 Paraat Pre-plant

4 Paraat Drench5 Paraat Spray

15 STR-98 Pre-plant Drench Drench

16 STR-98 Drench Drench Drench17 STR-98 Spray Spray Spray

18 STR-40 Pre-plant Drench Drench

19 STR-40 Drench Drench Drench20 STR-40 Spray Spray Spray

Application methods & timings for biological products against Crown rot Expt. 2.2

Biofungicides: application of these products could continue after introduction of crown rot infested spreader plants (preventative + curative). Application 3 times at 2 week intervals

Control of Crown rot of strawberry Expt. 2.2

• Some plant collapse in untreated inoculated plots

• Few symptoms of crown rot in the growing plants visible across the trial by the end of October

• Plants will be lifted for destructive assessment of internal crown rotting in November 2014

Powdery Mildew in strawberryControl by conventional fungicides Expt. 2.3

Angela Berrie, EMR

• Strawberry cv. Elsanta planted July 2013 in tunnel, mown off June 2014 & trial carried out on regrowth

• Mildew, Podosphaera aphanis, first seen early July 2014

Conventional fungicide screening 4 replicates• 11 products tested (Systhane 20 EW, myclobutanil, standard) • Applied at 1000 L/ha• First spray 23rd July 2014• Final spray 27th August• Assessed 3rd September

% leaf area mildewed on 5 leaves on 5 plants/plot

Conventional fungicide control of Powdery mildew in strawberry Sept 2014 Expt. 2.3

Untreated STR-118 STR-77STR-37

% l

eaf

area

mild

ewed

UTC 37 47 Sys 87 177 25a 17 158 118 88 77

Systhane & product code numbers

Summary of results Expt. 2.3

Conventional fungicides - powdery mildew

• Disease pressure was high (24% leaf area mildewed in untreated)

• All treatments reduced disease compared to untreated

• STR-37 and STR-47 did not perform as well as Systhane 20 EW standard whilst all other treatments performed as well or better

• STR-77 and STR-88 were best performing – no mildew colonies on new tissue at assessment

• No phytotoxicity

• Statistical analysis is pending

Powdery Mildew in Strawberry Control by biofungicides Expt. 2.4

Angela Berrie, EMR

•Strawberry cv. Elsanta planted in July 2014 in tunnel

Biofungicide screening trial 5 replicates• 11 products tested including Systhane 20 EW,

myclobutanil, standard• Applied at 1000 L/ha• First spray 22nd July 2014• Introduced inoculum 31st July• First mildew 7th August

• Assessed on 20th August% leaf area mildewed on 5 leaves on 5 plants/plotFruit harvested & assessed for mildew & rots

Biofungicide control of powdery mildew in strawberry August 2014 Expt. 2.4

Untreated Systhane STR-06

% l

eaf

area

mild

ewed

UTC 43 90 203 178 40 188 181 157 105 Sys 06

Systhane & product code numbers

178 = Serenade ASO, B. subtilis

Summary of results Expt. 2.4

Biofungicides - powdery mildew in strawberry

• Disease pressure was high (33% leaf area mildewed in untreated)

• All biofungicides reduced disease

• STR-06 and STR-105 performed as well as Systhane 20 EW

• No phytotoxicity

• Statistical analysis is pending

Summary - Potential new products against strawberry diseases (2011-2014)

Disease Fungicides Biofungicides

Crown rot 24 - - 40 Prestop -

Powdery mildew 77 88 118 06 105 157

Soft rots Signum 25a 77 - - -

Bold – disease control equal to reference product

Not bold – some disease reduction compared with untreated control

Signum = boscalid + pyraclostrobin, Prestop = Gliocladium catenulatum

Novel pesticides for aphid control on protected raspberry Expt. 2.5

Nick Birch, James Hutton Institute, Dundee

• Polytunnel IPM trials on raspberry cv. Glen Ample combining biopesticides, conventionalinsecticides & insect biocontrol agents

• Large raspberry aphid Amphorophora idaei(earlier attack)

• Potato aphid Macrosiphum eurphorbiae(later attack)

Novel pesticides for aphid control on protected raspberry Expt. 2.5

• 5 pesticides tested including Calypso, thiacloprid, as standard (with water as an untreated control)

• Assessments 4 plants/plot on the top 0.5 m of a cane in week 1 pre-spray & weeks 2-6;

- Cane height

- Counts of large raspberry aphid & potato aphid (adults, winged adults & nymphs)

- Counts of dead & parasitised aphids

- Presence of other pest or beneficial insects

3 tunnels of cv. Glen Ample each with 3 replicate blocks

Application frequencies and timings of pesticides & aphid biocontrol products to raspberry Expt. 2.5

Weeks treatment applied to raspberry tunnels 2014

Treat-ments

Pre-spray

WK1 WK2 WK3 WK4 WK5 WK6

21 May-11 June 16 June-2 July 7-16 July

UT

Calypso

59

50

62

130

ERVIPAR

APHLIN

ERVIPAR Aphidius ervi APHILIN Aphelinus abdominali

Earlier raspberry attack Potato aphid Expt. 2.5

Post-spray application 1 for all treatments (week 2)

P = 0.031 P = 0.016

Adults Nymphs

Significant differences

130 50 59 62 St W 130 50 59 62 St W

St = standard CalypsoW = water

Later raspberry attack Large raspberry aphid Expt. 2.5

Counts in final week of experiment (week 6)

P =0.040 P = 0.098

Adults Nymphs

Significant differences

130 50 59 62 St W 130 50 59 62 St W

St = standard CalypsoW = water

Summary of results Expt. 2.5

IPM for two species of raspberry aphids

• Potato aphids arrived earlier & were controlled well by treatments in weeks 1-4

• Large raspberry aphids arrived 2 weeks later & were controlled well by treatments in weeks 3-6

• Treatment 50 most effective against potato aphid (over 60%), but all treatments gave over 40% control, including biopesticides.

• Treatment 59 was most effective against large raspberry aphid (over 90%) but biopesticides (62 & 130) were also moderately effective

• Reduced spray frequencies were effective for all treatments

• Efficacy of biocontrol (released parasitoids Aphidius ervi & Aphelinusabdominalis) complemented spray treatments & there were no detected non-target effects. Maximum parasitism rate (A. ervi) 17%

European tarnished plant bug (Lygus rugulipennis) on strawberry Expt. 2.6

Jerry Cross and Chantelle Jay, EMR

• 25 field plots at EMR, each 15 m apart

• Randomized block design – 5 replicates of 5 treatments

• Strawberries (cv. Flamenco) in double row at 0.25 m spacing, planted 5 June

• Each plot surrounded by 1.5 m sowing of fat hen and Matricaria, strimmed before spraying on 5 Aug for plot bug invasion

• Pre-assessment on 6 Aug

• Treatments applied on 7 and 21 Aug

• Counts of nymphs N1 to N5, ♀,♂ adults on 12, 14, 20, 28 Aug & 4 Sep

• Strawberry damage assessments on 5 and 22 Sep

Strimmed plots

Plot prior to strimming

European tarnished plant bug Expt. 2.6

Mean numbers of nymphs & adults from regular assessments to 28 days after 1st treatment sprays

*

*

**

* *

Chess WG = pymetrozineSteward (half rate) = indoxacarb

* Significant differences from untreated for nymph or adult counts (P<0.05 on square root transformed data)

European tarnished plant bug Expt. 2.6

Mean fruit damage – two harvests

a

A

c

C

bb

B B

b

C

Significant differences (P<0.05 square root transformed data) where letters differ from the untreated for first or second harvests

1= low, 2= moderate, 3= high damage index

Summary of results Expt. 2.6

European tarnished plant bug

None

Low

Moderate

High

• Chlorpyrifos, the commercial standard, was most effective at reducing nymph & adult numbers

• Steward, indoxacarb, at half rate + Silwet & STR-59 reduced numbers

• Fruit damage at both harvests least after chlorpyrifos use

• At the later harvest, Steward at half rate + Silwet gave a similar fruit damage reduction to chlorpyrifoscompared with the untreated

Malformation of strawberry fruit caused by Lygusfeeding on flowers

Herbicides on newly planted strawberries Expt. 2.7 John Atwood and Harriet Roberts, ADAS

To investigate the crop safety of two chemical treatments when applied 1 or 10 days after planting cold stored strawberry runners.

Strawberry cv. Elsanta planted in coir-filled troughs in May 2014 and pots in June 2014. 4 replicates

Product Time after planting

Untreated control -

165 1 day

Dual Gold 1 day

165 10 days

Dual Gold 10 days

• Neither 165 nor Dual Gold (S-metolachlor) caused any phytotoxicity during the trials at either timing. (Dual Gold permitted on outdoor crops only)

Yield following herbicide use on newly planted strawberries Expt. 2.7

• STR-165 crop was May planted, Dual Gold test replanted in June

• Yield was low

• Neither herbicide had any statistically significant effect on marketable yield, amount of waste, berry size or timing of harvest.

• Confirms safety of 165 up to 10 days post planting

020406080

100120140

UTC 165 ( 1 day) 165 ( 10days)

Tota

l yi

eld

/pla

nt

(g)

STR-165

0

20

40

60

80

UTC Dual Gold(1 day)

Dual Gold(10 days)

Tota

l yi

eld

/pla

nt

(g)

Dual Gold

Marketable Waste

Evaluation of herbicides for control of strawberry runners Expt. 2.8

John Atwood and Harriet Roberts, ADAS

To investigate the efficacy of herbicides (including one bio-herbicide), when used as directed sprays for strawberry runner control

Soil grown cv. Fenellaplanted 2013 in polythene mulched beds. 4 replicates

Treatment Spray date Spray date

Untreated control - -

124 + adjuvant Low rate 2nd Sept 16th Sept

124 + adjuvant High rate 2nd Sept 16th Sept

109 2nd Sept 16th Sept

Harvest, glufosinate-ammonium 5l/ha 2nd Sept -

• Plots chosen for evenness of runner development• Runner damage & % ground cover runners & of weeds

assessed in alleys 2,4,6 & 8 weeks after 1st treatment

Herbicide control of strawberry runners Expt. 2.8

Untreated Herbicide 109

Strawberry runners and weed cover in the alleys reduced by herbicide treatment

Herbicide control of runners Expt 2.8

6 wks after 1st treatment

• Severity of damage to runners -all treatments damaged large & small runners.

(9 = no effect, 0 = dead)

• Runner ground cover - all treatments significantly reduced runner cover compared with untreated. 124 & Harvest best

• Weed cover – reduced by all treatments. Harvest most effective at this stage.

Electrical weeding Expt. 2.9Lynn Tatnell, ADAS

• Natural weed populations around and through established blackcurrant bushes treated

• Electrical treatment at 3 voltages on16 May 2014

• Assessments 1, 3 & 6 weeks after treatment of tagged weeds

• Large weeds were killed, but contact was lost at times

• Some blackcurrant branch damage from weeder contact

• Machinery modifications needed to treat a range of weed heights

Electrical weeder with fruit arm (developed by Allium & Brassica centre) being tested on weeds

Branch damage

Numbers of products tested against pests, disease & weeds of soft fruit (2011-2014)

YE

AR

Novel products tested for potential use in soft fruit

BiologicalTotal bio Chemical

TOTAL products micro-org botanical salt/other

1 4 4 2 10 11 21

2 7 5 2 14 20 34

3 5 5 2 12 18 30

4 7 8 0 15 23 38

Total 11 12 3 26 38 64Total refers to the number of individual products tested

New effective products have been found for soft fruit. Information from testing on other crops can also be utilised for product selections

SCEPTRE Conference

Securing plant protection products for

sustainable crop production

Tuesday 24 February, 2015

Kingsgate Conference Centre, Peterborough

• Sceptre project – Aims and impact

• Biorational products – can we expand the armoury?

• Development of PPPs for EU market

• IR4 and the global minor-use summit

• EU initiatives to support speciality crops

• “Breakout” discussion sessions after presentations