Forecasting regional wireworm damage levels in potatoes based on soil temperatures
- 1MELES GmbH, Consulting Engineers for Biology, Mörikestraße 20, 3100/ St. Pölten, Austria (p.hann@melesbio.at)
- 2Agriculture Chamber of Lower Austria, Department for Horticulture and Vegetable growing and Plant Protection, Wiener Straße 64, 3100/ St. Pölten, Austria
- 3BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, Gregor Mendel Str. 33, 1180/ Vienna, Austria
- 4Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety Ltd., Department for Sustainable Agriculture, Spargelfeldstraße 191, 1220/ Vienna, Austria
Wireworms, the soil living larvae of several click-beetle species (Fam. Elateridae), are serious pests in various crops, e.g. vegetables, potatoes and maize, due to their feeding on underground plant parts. Controlling wireworm infestations in Europe has become increasingly challenging due to the lack of efficient insecticides and presumably the effects of reduced tillage and climate change. It is to be expected that rising temperatures will further enhance the population densities and spread of thermophilic species.
In the frame of the ACRP-project “RIMPEST1”, the relationships between weather and wireworm damages in potatoes were investigated for an important potato production region in North-eastern Austria. An analysis was conducted using anonymised data on annual wireworm damages from 2002 to 2022, along with corresponding temperature and precipitation data. The resulting regression model calculates the damage level in potatoes in North-eastern Austria during late summer/autumn at the time of harvest, based on soil temperature sums from the previous months. The underlying significant positive correlation between soil temperatures and wireworm damages in the investigated region might be due to promoting effects of higher temperatures on the thermophilic species Agriotes ustulatus (Schäller) and A. brevis (Candeze).
By utilizing the model, farmers and extension workers can calculate a first forecast of the damage risk prior to potato harvest, making it a decision support tool for determining the optimal harvesting date. Additionally, the model approach can estimate future trends of wireworm infestation in potatoes in the respective region based on representative climate scenarios. First results indicate a clear increase in the risk of severe wireworm damages in potatoes in the period from 2031 to 2060. To ensure optimal performance in the future, the model approach should be continuously validated and calibrated with new data from further years.
[1] ACRP-13th Call Project RIMPEST (KR20AC0K17957) ("The effect of changing climate on potential risks from important insect pests on plant production in Austria and related adaptation options").
https://www.klimafonds.gv.at/report/acrp-13th-call-2020/
https://rimpest.boku.ac.at
How to cite: Hann, P., Trska, C., Kamptner, A., Eitzinger, J., and Wechselberger, K.: Forecasting regional wireworm damage levels in potatoes based on soil temperatures, EMS Annual Meeting 2024, Barcelona, Spain, 1–6 Sep 2024, EMS2024-405, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2024-405, 2024.
