It's started and pretty much at exactly the same time as last year. Sightings form course managers on PestTracker are on the up. I suspect we'll see a similar pattern to last year and see the period of hatching stretched over the next 3 to 4 weeks.
So assuming you've seen Cranefly hatching, the next 3 -4 weeks is the time to apply your Acelepryn with the objective of getting into the "grubzone" ready for those juvenile Leatherjackets to feed on as soon as they hatch.
There are a few things you can do to increase the effectiveness of the product and help yourself get the very best out of it:
Rinse of the leaf ASAP
Try not to let the product dry on the leaf - once it's dry it will bind to the leaf and is tough to wash off. The sooner you irrigate the better chance you have of moving it to where you need it.
Return Clippings
It doesn't matter how good a job you do of applying and rinsing the product, some WILL bind to the leaf. If you can return this to the sward you maximise the amount of Active Ingredient being returned to the young LeatherJackets
Take some time to set up your sprayer:
- Use good nozzles
- Keep pressure between 2-3 bar
- Lift the water volume - (minimum 600l/ha but as high as you can go)
- Achieve this by slowing down and larger nozzles NOT BY increasing pressure
So many people I visit do not invest this time - this is a critical application and worth the investment of time.
