Climate Change & Sugar Beet - Mike May (Broom's Barn)

Broom’s Barn Research Centre

Farming Futures meeting

Climate changeMike May



Agenda

• Welcome – Clare Wyatt & Mike May

• Climate change

- Mike May - introduction

- Eric Ober – water use

- Mark Stevens – crop protection

• Farm Walk

• Summing up discussion with coffee

• 16.45 finish


Climate change

• Range of changes include

• Drier and warmer(?) summers

• Wetter winters

• More extreme weather events (wind, rain,

temperature

• These affect most aspects of farming –

e.g. cropping/land use, agronomy,

rotations, energy, biodiversity.




Crop Protection under a

changing climate

Dr Mark Stevens


Effects of climate change (1)

• Increased pest / disease survival

• Changes in predator survival

• Synchrony between pest & predator

• Increase diseases in spring

• More generations of pests per season.


Effects of climate change (2)

• See more warm climate diseases/pests

• Earlier incidence of current pests/diseases

• Faster crop & weed growth

• Increased risk of root rots

• Harvest in wetter autumns?

• Storage under warmer conditions?

Warmer springs & summers (1)

• More generations of Beet Cyst Nematodes

• Multiplication/season increases

• Actions

- Increase rotation length / avoid host crops

- Consider trap crops in summer?



Silver Y moth

• Overwinter nearer UK

• Actions

- Greater vigilance

- Treat if threshold reached

- Action across host crops.



Red spider mite

• Likes hot weather (>25°C)

• Actions

- Able to consider varietal tolerance.


Rhizomania

Distribution of rhizomania

in Europe

1952 Italy

1971 Yugoslavia

1972 Greece

1973 France

1974 Germany

1978 Czechoslovakia

1979 Austria

1979 Romania

1982 Hungary

1983 Switzerland

1983 Bulgaria

1983 Netherlands

1984 Belgium

1987 UK

1988 Spain

1997 Sweden

2000 Denmark

2002 Poland

19601950 1970 1980 1990 2000


Climate change on rhizomania

• Warmer springs & summers

• Rhizomania inoculum levels in soils increase

• Need to:-

- Use tolerant varieties on infected or high risk

fields (build up less on tolerant varieties)

- Maintain adequate rotation

- Control weed beet


Peach-potato aphid

(Myzus persicae)


Warmer wetter winters (1)

• Increased aphid survival

• Increase in virus levels

• Actions

- Use seed treatments

(new ones better persistence)

- Ensure good hygiene

(e.g. cleaner loader clamps, set-

aside).

Comparison of predicted incidence of

virus yellows with actual in East: 1965-2005

1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

0

20

40

60

80

100 With pest management

Without pest management

Pe

rce

nt

cro

ps

in

fec

ted

wit

h v

iru

s y

ell

ow

s

Year


-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Myzus persicae at Rothamsted 1965 - 2007

Jan - Feb mean screen temperature °C

April

May

June

July

Fir

st

su

cti

on

tra

p r

eco

rd

r 2 = 0.793

P < 0.001

(2007 is shown in red)

Richard Harrington RRES


Total numbers of Myzus persicae caught in

water traps

May June July Aug

Week number

Nu

mb

er o

f M

. p

ers

ica

e

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Virus Yellows - effects on yield

0

10

20

30

40

50

BYV BMYV BChV

Early June infection

Yie

ld d

ecre

ase (

%)

Beet yellows virus

Beet mild yellowing virus

Beet chlorosis virus


Warmer springs & winters

• Further actions- Seed treatments work

- BUT need to protect them

- Stewardship across crops

- Rotate insecticides in rotation

(e.g. potatoes, brassicas)

- Reduce infection by good hygiene.


Technology

Climate Change & Sugar Beet - Mike May (Broom's Barn)