The First Record of Tortoise Beetle Damage to Sugar Beet in the UK: Is Global Warming Responsible?

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 158-161
Author(s):  
Alan M. Dewar ◽  
Tim Martin

The authors thought they had experienced everything that the sugar beet crop could throw at them from a pest point of view after almost 40 years of working with the sugar beet industry. It was therefore very exciting to be confronted with a highly unusual pest this summer, so unusual that its presence in high numbers causing significant damage to a sugar beet crop in Norfolk in August 2021, is the first record of such damage in the UK. The pest was the exotic tortoise beetle, Cassida nebulosa, which the sugar beet bible, Pests, Diseases and Disorders of Sugar Beet, published by the International Institute de la Recherches Betteraves (IIRB), describes as rare, and never important in northern Europe. Indeed, this species has never, in our memory, been recorded before as a pest in sugar beet in the UK, only a very rare presence. Dewar and Cooke (2006) stated in their review of pest problems in sugar beet the UK, that crop damage by tortoise beetles never occurs in western Europe, but can be severe in warmer Mediterranean regions and in Russia.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan G. Buddie ◽  
Ivan Rwomushana ◽  
Lisa C. Offord ◽  
Simeon Kibet ◽  
Fernadis Makale ◽  
...  

Abstract Following reports of an invasive snail causing crop damage in the expansive Mwea irrigation scheme in Kenya, samples of snails and associated egg masses were collected and sent to CABI laboratories in the UK for molecular identification. DNA barcoding analyses using the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene confirmed the identity of the snails as Pomacea canaliculata, widely considered to be one of the most invasive invertebrates of waterways and irrigation systems worldwide. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of P. canaliculata in Kenya, and the first confirmed record of an established population in continental Africa. This timely identification shows the benefit of molecular identification when combined with a reliable database such as that provided by the Barcoding of Life Data system. We found that the egg masses tested gave an identical barcode sequence to the adult snails, allowing identifications to be made more rapidly. Given the impact of this species in Asia, there is need for an assessment of the risk to Africa, and the implementation of an appropriate response in Kenya and elsewhere to manage this new threat to agriculture and the environment.


2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazari NAZARI ALAM ◽  
Hassan Mohamad ALIZADE ◽  
Hmid RAHIMIAN MASHHADI

Ground cherry (Physalis divaricata L.) is one of the most important summer weeds in sugar beet crop in the west of Iran. In order to estimate the damage rate of this weed, field studies were conducted to quantify the effect of ground cherry density on sugar beet yield and to determine relationships among different weed densities (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 plants m-2) and sugar beet yield in 2008. The experiment design was randomized complete blocks with three replications. In addition, the neighborhood effect of ground cherry was assessed in a completely randomized design. Neighborhood effect was surveyed from zero to 125 cm apart from each beet plant to ground cherry. Density of ground cherry was estimated as the systematic method in 30 sugar beet fields that were chosen randomly.Phonology of ground cherry was recorded based on the GDD (Growth Degree Day) and date. Results showed that two weed plants m2 of this weed resulted in 34% damage to sugar beet. Ground cherry significantly reduced yield of sugar beet when sown 50 cm apart from crop plant. Crop damage of sugar beet was 41% when ground cherry seeds were sown at zero cm apart from each sugar beet plant. Flowering of ground cherry occurred in the middle of June when it received 61.45-75 GDD and it was distinguished that ground cherry is a neutralized weed to the long day.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1281-1284
Author(s):  
Petar Petrov ◽  
Bojan Mitrovski

Due to the great economic significance of the sugar beet, the new production trends are aimed at improving the quantitative and qualitative properties and one of the basic agro technical measures that is directly dependent on the yield and quality of the turnip is the properly conducted plant nutrition. Exporting high quantities of nutrients from the soil, the sugar beet requires application of advanced agro-technology, primarily application of adequate and controlled nutrition and irrigation. Application of this measure, in combination with soil processing, has sustained influence over the following cultures in the crop rotation in terms of nutrients regiment and fight against weeds.In order to determine the effects of mineral fertilizers on sugar beet, field experiment was conducted on fluvisol soil. The experiment is set according to a random block system, following the standard methods of agricultural chemistry for conducting field trials. The experiment includes eight variants, as follows: 1. Control (non-fertilized), 2. NP, 3. NK, 4. PK, 5. NPK, 6. N2PK, 7. N2P2K, 8. N3PK.In the phase of technological maturity of sugar beet, collection of the vegetative material and measurement of the height of the biological yield of the turnips was carried out. Based on the survey results, it can be concluded that the variant N2P2K has achieved the highest yield of swollen roots, i.e. 69.330 kg/ha. The highest yield of leafy greens was achieved in the variant N3PK, i.e. 41.920 kg/ha, which indicates the fact that nitrogen has direct influence over the vegetation mass of sugar beet.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Pugh ◽  
M. M. Stack

AbstractErosion rates of wind turbine blades are not constant, and they depend on many external factors including meteorological differences relating to global weather patterns. In order to track the degradation of the turbine blades, it is important to analyse the distribution and change in weather conditions across the country. This case study addresses rainfall in Western Europe using the UK and Ireland data to create a relationship between the erosion rate of wind turbine blades and rainfall for both countries. In order to match the appropriate erosion data to the meteorological data, 2 months of the annual rainfall were chosen, and the differences were analysed. The month of highest rain, January and month of least rain, May were selected for the study. The two variables were then combined with other data including hailstorm events and locations of wind turbine farms to create a general overview of erosion with relation to wind turbine blades.


Organization ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 135050842110209
Author(s):  
Martin Parker

In this review I consider the 20 years that have passed since the publication of my book Against Management. I begin by locating it in the context of the expanding business schools of the UK in the 1990s, and the growth of CMS in north western Europe. After positioning the book within its time, and noting that the book is now simultaneously highly cited and irrelevant, I then explore the arguments I made in the final chapter. If the book is of interest for the next two decades, it because it gestures towards the importance of alternative forms of organization, which I continue to maintain are not reducible to ‘management’. Given the intensifying crises of climate, ecology, inequality and democracy, developing alternatives must be understood as the historical task of CMS within the business school and I propose a ten-point manifesto in support of that commitment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1067
Author(s):  
Arne Kienzle ◽  
Lara Biedermann ◽  
Evgeniya Babeyko ◽  
Stephanie Kirschbaum ◽  
Georg Duda ◽  
...  

Due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, a large number of elective knee replacement procedures had to be postponed in both early and late 2020 in most western countries including Germany and the UK. It is unknown how public interest and demand for total knee arthroplasties was affected. Public interest in knee pain, knee osteoarthritis and knee arthroplasty in Germany and the UK was investigated using Google Trend Analysis. In addition, we monitored for changes in patient composition in our outpatient department. As of early March in Germany and of late March in the UK, until the lockdown measures, a 50 to 60% decrease in relative search frequency was observed in all categories investigated compared to the beginning of the year. While public interest for knee pain rapidly recovered, decreased interest for knee osteoarthritis and replacement lasted until the easing of measures. Shortly prior to and during the first lockdown mean search frequency for knee replacement was significantly decreased from 39.7% and 36.6 to 26.9% in Germany and from 47.7% and 50.9 to 23.7% in the UK (Germany: p = 0.022 prior to lockdown, p < 0.001 during lockdown; UK: p < 0.0001 prior to and during lockdown). In contrast, mean search frequencies did not differ significantly from each other for any of the investigated time frames during the second half of 2020 in both countries. Similarly, during the first lockdown, the proportion of patients presenting themselves to receive primary knee arthroplasty compared to patients that had already undergone knee replacement declined markedly from 64.7% to 46.9%. In contrast, patient composition changed only marginally during the lockdown measures in late 2020 in both Germany and the UK. We observed a high level of public interest in knee arthroplasty despite the ongoing pandemic. The absence of a lasting decline in interest in primary knee arthroplasty suggests that sufficient symptom reduction cannot be achieved without surgical care for a substantial number of patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-109
Author(s):  
Lynda M. Warren

In January 2021 the UK government granted an application for authorisation to use thiamethoxam, a neonicotinoid pesticide, to protect commercial sugar beet crops from attack by viruses transmitted by aphids. This was the first time such an authorisation had been granted in the United Kingdom (UK) and there were concerns that it signalled a weakening of environmental standards now that the UK was no longer part of the European Union. In fact, similar authorisations had been granted by several European Member States in the last 2 years, despite the ban on the use of neonicotinoids introduced in 2018. Nevertheless, the reasons for granting the authorisation do suggest that the balance between adopting a precautionary approach to environmental protection and taking emergency action to protect economic interests may have shifted. It was acknowledged that the proposed mitigation to safeguard bees and other wildlife was not entirely satisfactory. In the end, due to unforeseen weather conditions it meant that the pesticide is not necessary, which in itself demonstrates that short-term emergency measures are unsuitable for dealing with the problem. If the sugar beet industry is to continue to prosper in the UK, it will need to be managed in a way that provides resistance to virus infection without the use of controversial chemicals.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 273 (2) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
EUGENY V. BOLTENKOV

Iris aphylla Linnaeus (1753: 38) (Iridaceae) is a highly variable species from the morphological point of view, especially in the height of stem, stem branching, size of leaves, and color of flowers. Moreover, it can be found in different habitats. In the Middle-Russian Upland, this plant is mostly associated with meadow steppes on slopes and, rarely, with edges of shrub thickets; also occurs along forest edges and in open forests, where blooming plants are rare (Kazakova et al. 2015). It is native to Central, Eastern, and some parts of Western Europe. The species is widespread in the Ukraine and mainly in the south of middle European Russia, while in the European countries its populations are sparser. Iris aphylla is of autotetraploid origin (Mitra 1956); plants with the chromosome number 2n = 48 are found more frequently in Europe (Wróblewska et al. 2010). Its numerous synonyms, including four subspecies, indicate the variability of this species. The genetic data confirm the conclusion that the subspecies of I. aphylla should be regarded as a single species (Wróblewska et al. 2010). According to my best knowledge (see also Jarvis 2007) the name I. aphylla is still lacking typification.


1958 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 439-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Harper

Normally the sugar-beet root aphid, Pemphigus betae Doane, lives and feeds on sugar-beet roots below ground during the summer and fall. However, in many beet fields between Lethbridge and Monarch, Alberta, in September, 1956, a large number of these aphids were found on the soil surface and on the crowns and leaves of the plants. Many of the aphids had crawled up the plants and, even after death, remained clinging to the leaves (Fig. 1). This clinging reaction seemed similar to that of grasshoppers infected with Entomophthora grylli Fresen. Mr. R. B. Baird, Entomology Laboratory, Canada Department of Agriculture, Belleville, Ontario, identified the organism causing the disease destroying these aphids as Entomophthora aphidis Hoffm. This is the first record of this disease killing subterranean aphids in Canada. The only other reports of E. aphidis on root aphids are those of Maxson (1916) in Colorado and Charles (1941) in California. In Canada, it has been previously reported as a factor in control of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harr.), in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia (MacLeod, 1953).


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document