Many fruit growers in the Mittenberg district are desperate: the cockchafer population has exploded, more than 50 hectares are afflicted. Now, the voracious larvae can actually destroy the harvest. Unless the politicians help.

Cockchafer season: not all are rejoicingThe problem: cockchafers are loyal to their location and multiply incredibly fast. A female lays up to 80 eggs, from which cockchafers develop within two to three years. This year is one of those flight years again, and in the meantime, the larvae are appearing in Bavaria on a massive scale.

Up to 80 percent of fruit trees affectedThe district of Mittenberg is particularly affected with up to a 100 cockchafer grubs per square meter. Here and there, 80 percent of the trees are afflicted. The larvae eat away at the roots and the fruit trees hardly bear fruit because of it. Or they slowly die off. Already last year, many farmers had to put up with great financial damage because of the voracious cockchafer grubs.

There has been hardly any remedial action up until now: farmers can mechanically work the soil, or cover it with nets. The first actions to help the fruit growers were in Röllbach. The explosive multiplication is to be reduced with a natural insecticide. Although this is not nearly adequate, as the fruit growers in Klingenberg complain.

They are requesting emergency approval for the beauveria, a soil fungus forbidden in Bavaria. The fungus is brought into the soil from barleycorns, and would be able to keep the cockchafer grub population in check. The fungus is already allowed in Baden-Württenberg, Austria and Switzerland. In Bavaria, the parliament fraction SPD has now submitted an emergency appeal, so that the farmers can also employ the fungus here.

Source - www.freshplaza.com