Pea growers have been put on alert following early pest sightings.

Producers are being urged to keep an eye on pea moths and pea midge numbers, following the discovery of the pests in the first few days of June.

“A few pea moths are now appearing in pheromone traps in certain parts of the country,” said Anthony Biddle, technical director at the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO).

“They were early arrivals at one site in south-east Essex, where 20 were found in one trap at the beginning of the month.”

Dr Biddle said that just one per cent of damage caused by pea moth costs producers around £3 a tonne to grade out, “and, at £140/tonne, it doesn’t take too many one per cents to make spraying worthwhile,” he adds.

Insecticide should not be applied before egg-hatch, he said, but growers can obtain guidance on spray timing by contacting the PGRO’s 24-hour helpline.

“Decisions on when and/or whether to spray should be determined by pea moth numbers in traps. If more than 10 are caught on two consecutive occasions, then it would be wise to spray - but wait until flowering before doing so.”

He also advocates vigilance when it comes to monitoring the pea midge, particularly in vulnerable areas such as east Yorkshire, because of the potentially disastrous effect pea midge damage can have on yields - reductions of as much as 50 per cent have been known.

“Growers can give themselves two or three days notice by setting pheromone traps around last year’s pea fields, which the midges are most likely to target first,” he said.

Planting estimates suggest the overall acreage of peas is down this season, although an increase in the marrowfat area means that premiums this crop year in the region of £50-£70/tonne will be commonplace.

According to Angie Jackson, pulse trading manager at Frontier, the decrease in ‘blue pea’ plantings will mean that all blues could command a premium, subject to quality.

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