Has AgResearch told farmers the full story with AR1 and black beetle?

The outbreak of black beetles in pastures north of Taupo is extensive, and a big economic cost to pasture based farmers.

It also raises the question why farmers are using the AR1 based endophytes in their grass cultivars now, when there was evidence years ago black beetle was unaffected by this control.

With AgResearch instrumental in the science behind the use of endophytes in our pastures for insect control, and also selling this technology,  are they giving farmers the full story on these new products.

Confusion reins and the science community needs to show some leadership in this area, so farmers can make better informed decisions based on independent science.

Martin Henton doesn't like what he sees on his farm on Davies Rd between Gordonton and Taupiri – the pastures has suffered extensive damage from black beetle in the last three seasons and he estimates the insects have cost him $94,000 a year in lost production, extra feed and resowing.

In all 42 per cent of the Henton farm is sown in ryegrass containing the endophyte AR1.Looking back he noticed a direct correlation to a drop in milk production to the percentage of AR1 he is growing.

"I have been a grass farmer for 30 odd years and all that grows (in AR1 paddocks) after the drought is weeds."

AgResearch pasture scientist Warren King, whose team is monitoring pasture health on Waikato farms, said there were no silver bullets but a suite of technologies could be brought to bear on the black beetle.

An AgResearch trial on Mr Henton's farm which Mr King is involved in shows using treated pasture seed with the AR37 endophyte was effective against high black beetle numbers. "Much of the poor pasture condition in the Waikato is due to black beetle, not drought, other pests or overgrazing, but there are interactions."

Farmers could soon be handed another weapon in their fight against pasture-munching black beetle reports The Waikato Times. Ballance Agri-Nutrients has found a bio control agent which kills the pasture pest, which has caused millions of dollars of pasture damage in the Waikato during recent droughts, and is investigating ways to apply it to pastures.

Warwick Catto, Ballance's head of research and environment, could not say when the research was likely to be complete but such work can take years.

There are very few weapons in the framers' arsenal to fight black beetle, with experts saying a well managed ryegrass containing the black beetle killing AR37 fungus is one of the best options, but the numbers have been so huge in the recent droughts and the fungus is only present in parts of the plant.

Mr Catto said finding an organism deadly to the beetle was easy, but finding a way to get it into the soil was difficult. Such work was not Ballance's core business but the co-op had felt it necessary to get involved in such research, he said.