International Pest Control – November/December 2022 – Vol 64, Nr.6

IPCadmin | December 5, 2022

COVER IMAGE: Red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum)
Picture by Rob Morrison

Climate Change is very much on the agenda as I write this with COP27 in progress and everyone pessimistic about the outcome – I hope they are wrong! The global food system is responsible for between 21% and 37% of global emissions. In Europe it is only 10% of total emissions but a significant proportion of that is due to “enteric fermentation” and the production of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – by ruminants.

So, could farmers convert from GHG intensive livestock to arable farming? Research in the southwest of England would suggest not – and for reasons that would apply to other areas with a warm wet maritime climate. Soils would be unworkable for much of the year and harvest would be poor. I can hear the term “rewilding” being muttered by some.

These days it seems that a robot, or a drone, is the answer to so many of the problems of agriculture. In this case it’s robots being developed to patrol banana plantations on the look-out for pests and diseases, and doing so without a lunch break. Not only is the robot tireless it can also address issues of manpower that seem to be afflicting so many businesses post-COVID.

We have a full report from PestWorld 2022, a report from ABIM for those more interested in biocontrol and a summary of the Swansea IPM Symposium. Lots of company news – as ever – with acquisition and “mergers” (another name for acquisition) continuing apace. Some interesting new technology launched – it seems the lab in the field is already with us.

As part of our Special Feature on stored products the noviGRain project team reports back on their first in-person meeting of the team since the project kicked off at the start of 2020. The virtual world can save a lot of time and travel, but it is often a poor second to meeting face to face and having the opportunity to socialise.

One of our Technical Advisers, Alex Wade, looks at the strategies of pests to hide from us in our food and the way to detect their presence and eliminate them. Natural enemies come to the fore in a report from Matthias Schöller and Sabine Prozell which considers how a range of beneficial insects can control stored product pests. And the by-products of making biofuel may have a use in stored pest control which is good news and means less waste from biofuel manufacture.

GMOs may have come to the rescue of the potato as GE plants are able to successfully resist potato blight. CABI have reviewed the impact of the fall armyworm while scientists and Penn State have discovered flavonoids from sorghum can stunt the growth of the pest. Meanwhile in maize scientists have discovered how a pathogenic fungus “reprograms” its host cells offering an understanding of infection that may help with disease control.

More problems for seed treatments and soil insecticides as work by WUR suggests the honeydew of aphids can be harmful to beneficial insects by transferring to them the chemicals used for seed and soil treatment. The neonicotinoid group is struggling to get off the hook! And research suggests wild potatoes may help fight zebra chip disease in cultivated varieties – it seems more and more pest control could be about genetics and not pesticides.

We close with looks at the impact of foliar feed on groundnuts’ vigour as well as a review of the impact of pine processionary moth. And the IoT (Internet of Things) makes an appearance in the identification of forestry pests – being “connected” will be critical to good pest management.

Chris Endacott, Editor International Pest Control magazine
Email Chris on editor@international-pest-control.com