An online aphid-monitoring system launched by the British Potato Council (BPC) today went live for the 2007 season to help potato seed growers maintain the high health status of the UK crop.
The revamped service, which is updated daily by the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) and gives growers an early, localised indication of aphid migrations, includes a host of new features.
Phil Northing, who runs the system at CSL, said: “The maps now show a traffic light system for each trap highlighting increases in vector pressure index. This allows users to see which traps in a region have increased most.”
Growers can also sign up to new SMS alerts, which sends a message to a mobile phone when the first peach-potato aphid - the species that can transmit viruses such as Potato Virus Y most effectively - is found in their area.
“We’ve also introduced a weekly index value SMS alert that sends you a message if the index exceeds a level you choose,” Northing added. “These new features are big benefits for time-poor growers and agronomists.”
The aphid-monitoring service is a development of BPC-funded research that has taken place over the last 10 years and it is available only to levy-payers.
The BPC is encouraging growers to log on to the service at www.potato.org.uk/aphids to sign up.
No comments yet