A project has been launched with the goal of enhancing the management of cabbage stem flea beetles (CSFB), which are the primary reason for the significant decline in the UK's oilseed rape crop area.

Researchers will track the migration of adult insects from August to October and monitor larval infestations from September to October at various sites across England.

The data gathered by AHDB and NIAB will be shared with farmers during the 2024-25 growing season and may also contribute to further research.

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To monitor adult CSFBs, yellow water traps will be deployed at ground level to track general activity and at a height of 1m to observe flying activity at seven locations across England.

At one site, additional monitoring will be conducted in two to three fields to assess variations in CSFB activity in nearby crops.

Updated information will be posted on the AHDB website twice a week throughout the monitoring period.

At all sites, a Bayer MagicTrap - new to the UK, will photograph beetles captured in the trap, use image analysis to identify and count CSFB and transmit data remotely.

This will allow comparisons with traditional yellow water traps, which require manual monitoring and hand-counting of beetles. Weather data will also be recorded.

To monitor CSFB larval invasion, 50 plants within 10 metres of the traps at each site will be examined for scars indicating larval attacks.

Sacha White, AHDB's lead crop protection scientist, said the data would also be valuable for future efforts to develop risk prediction models.

He stated: " We believe that this information will be of use to growers in selecting integrated pest management interventions, thereby helping reduce crop losses."

At the conclusion of the project, a complete dataset will be available for farmers and growers to access.