News on Wireworms

The 2025 Hutchinsons Potato Trials Results Day at Worth Farms, Lincolnshire, showcased key field trials and research to help tackle major potato industry challenges, including PCN, herbicide safety, wireworm, catch crops, blight, and Alternaria.

Fera Science’s Enigma I project is advancing to its second phase, focusing on sustainable wireworm control. Agri-food organizations are invited to join as co-funding partners for tailored research and practical solutions.

Emerald Research Ltd (ERL) and a leading potato grower in South West England have won an eighteen-month Innovate UK project to tackle the ever-growing problem of wireworm damage in potatoes.

The dwindling availability of insecticide seed treatment and nematicides has paved the way for pest control using entomopathogenic nematodes.

Fera scientists have made breakthrough progress with industry-steered wireworm research, highlighting where and when the pest is expected to pose the highest risk to arable and fresh produce crops over the next two decades. 

This year’s Hutchinsons Potato Demonstration Day, held at Worth Farms, Holbeach, Lincolnshire, focussed on potential solutions to address some of the key challenges faced by UK potato growers.

Europatat, the European Potato Association, is calling upon researchers and industry professionals to share information about ongoing research, and any other related activities which will help to control the spread of wireworms in potatoes.

Wireworms are a common potato plant predator, living in soil and feeding on roots. They are notoriously difficult to control, and populations are increasing in farm fields across Canada

The Fera-led R&D project, Enigma I, is reporting impressive results halfway through its investigation into sustainable wireworm control – a pest issue causing significant annual yield losses in root vegetable and salad crops.

Andalucía encara, aunque con bastante retraso provocado por las heladas, una campaña de patata nueva que será, a priori, «buena» pero que sufre la falta de productos fitosanitarios, señala Javier Boceta, director general de Meijer, empresa obtentora de variedades y líder en las patatas más sembradas y más demandadas por la industria nacional.

Following an upward trend in wireworm damage in root vegetable and cereal crops throughout the UK, industry leaders have joined forces to co-fund a Fera-led R&D project to find an end-to-end solution

La Dirección General de Sanidad de la Producción Agraria del Ministerio de Agricultura ha autorizado provisionalmente el uso y la comercialización de productos fitosanitarios formulados a base de Etoprofos 10% [GR] P/P contra el gusano de alambre (Agriotes sp.) en el cultivo de la patata en Andalucía.