The start of British Summer Time brought a pleasantly warm Sunday following a chilly week of temperatures generally too low for pollen beetle migration. As a result the majority of weather stations on Bayer Pollen Beetle Predictor are still showing only 20 to 30 % migration. Some regional exceptions are the South West and Scotland where migration is at just 15% or less and the North West, which is leading the field with four weather stations at 36%.
Against this backdrop of slow migration Dr Steve Ellis reports that the overview from ADAS field teams is that most crops have reached yellow bud and some have flowers open. “With just four days of March left, this could be all it takes to see crops into flowering and past the damage susceptible phase by the beginning of April this Saturday.”
The ‘new migration’ map is mostly showing moderate migration conditions with some weather stations on the western side of the country having good migration conditions. The BBC Weather website says sunshine and showers is the theme in the week ahead and their forecast includes temperatures around the mid-teens.
Dr Ellis says: “This outlook should allow migration to move forward, but probably too slowly to cause concern for crops already at yellow bud. However, all growers – particularly those with backward crops – should keep checking the pollen beetle predictor until their crops are flowering in earnest.”
To access Bayer pollen beetle predictor click on: www.bayercropscience.co.uk/pollenbeetlepredictor/
