Strawberry blossom weevil (Anthonumus rubi).
The strawberry blossom weevil (SBW) is one of the biggest pest in strawberry farming. It occurs every year and it is spread to the entire growing area in Sweden. It causes important yield loss and is a serious pest in conventional and organic strawberry farming. Non treated fields can results in 50% of the flower buds damaged and significant yield loss (Svensson, 2002).
Biology
The Strawberry blossom weevil, Anthonomus rubi (Herbst), is a small black scattered grey coleopteran species of the Curculionidae family. His main host is strawberry but it also occurs in raspberry, black berries (Rubus) and wild roses (Rosa canina). Adults usually measure 2-4 mm and reproduce through the summer season in …show more content…
Chemical control has to be done before blooming or when pollinators are not active.Treating early spring, and sometimes combine it with late treatment was shown to effectively control the strawberry blossom weevil (Tönnberg, V.,2014). Pyrethroids are an effective insecticide, but it also affect beneficial insects such as natural enemies or pollinators. If used they need to spray before flowering and after harvest. Mis-used of the product can lead to increased infestation of spider mites. Recent studies in Norway showed possible resistance of A. rubi toward the products (Trandem 2013a; Simpson, D et al., 1996) Therefore there is an increasing aspiration to replace pyrethroids treatments with other …show more content…
Monitoring of weevil abundance is particularly recommended and necessary at the field margins near to potential hibernation sites, raspberry, blackberry, or existing strawberry fields. Strawberry fields near to forests should be avoided, or these fields should be planted with more robust, rich blossoming cultivars because these revealed to have a higher loss compensation capacity compared to cultivars with a poorer set of blossoms. Even a slight infestation may result in a better product quality by “natural thinning“. (Krauß et al.,
The strawberry blossom weevil (SBW) is one of the biggest pest in strawberry farming. It occurs every year and it is spread to the entire growing area in Sweden. It causes important yield loss and is a serious pest in conventional and organic strawberry farming. Non treated fields can results in 50% of the flower buds damaged and significant yield loss (Svensson, 2002).
Biology
The Strawberry blossom weevil, Anthonomus rubi (Herbst), is a small black scattered grey coleopteran species of the Curculionidae family. His main host is strawberry but it also occurs in raspberry, black berries (Rubus) and wild roses (Rosa canina). Adults usually measure 2-4 mm and reproduce through the summer season in …show more content…
Chemical control has to be done before blooming or when pollinators are not active.Treating early spring, and sometimes combine it with late treatment was shown to effectively control the strawberry blossom weevil (Tönnberg, V.,2014). Pyrethroids are an effective insecticide, but it also affect beneficial insects such as natural enemies or pollinators. If used they need to spray before flowering and after harvest. Mis-used of the product can lead to increased infestation of spider mites. Recent studies in Norway showed possible resistance of A. rubi toward the products (Trandem 2013a; Simpson, D et al., 1996) Therefore there is an increasing aspiration to replace pyrethroids treatments with other …show more content…
Monitoring of weevil abundance is particularly recommended and necessary at the field margins near to potential hibernation sites, raspberry, blackberry, or existing strawberry fields. Strawberry fields near to forests should be avoided, or these fields should be planted with more robust, rich blossoming cultivars because these revealed to have a higher loss compensation capacity compared to cultivars with a poorer set of blossoms. Even a slight infestation may result in a better product quality by “natural thinning“. (Krauß et al.,