THE slightly improvement in the weather across the UK has meant that all but four of the UK weather stations – 79 out of 83 – monitored by the Bayer Pollen Beetle Predictor, report that pollen beetle migration has started.

Though conditions remain 'moderate' for most of the UK, except some parts of eastern England which are now experiencing 'good' conditions for pollen beetle migration.

With the slow start to spring growth this season, many crops are looking notably uneven, with green buds evident in some crops in the east. Rothamsted researcher, Dr Sam Cook, said that the weather had kept migration at bay so far, but that growers should remain mindful that the major migration events are still to come.

“Spring vigour is really kicking in now, with crops beginning to make up for the slow start. Growers need to continue to monitor the pollen beetle predictor tool and hope that the crop continues to stay one step ahead of the beetles.”

For now, forecasts suggest that temperatures will remain lower than the 15°C required for beetles to migrate to crops en-masse, which puts crops at greater risk.

Dr Cooke added: "Growers and agronomists should continue to check the prediction tool to monitor for new migrations and the extent of that migration. This will help determine when is the best time to monitor crops in order to assess the mean number of beetles per plant for comparison against threshold levels."

* To access the Bayer Pollen Beetle Predictor go to: https://cropscience.bayer.co.uk/tools-and-services/pollen-beetle-predictor/