Plant Protection Centres

The aim of the Plant Protection Centers is to make plant protection in agri- and horticulture both efficient and environment friendly. The centres are located in five different places in Sweden.

Organisation

What the Plant Protection Centres do

Pest and disease prognoses

The presence of pests, and the need for pesticides, vary from year to year, as well as geographically the same year. Adapting the use of pesticides according to actual need is beneficial for the environment and for the individual farmers’ financial situation and exposure to pesticides. It is also one of the key aspects of integrated pest management (IPM).

The prognosis and early warning service is an important help for those farmers who wish to use pesticide when needed. For certain pests, prognoses are made in advance and state an expected development. Such prognoses are made regularly for instance for birdcherry aphids, frit flies and eyespot in cereals and sclerotinia disease in spring oilseeds. Prognoses are also made made in horticultural crops, for instance for dart moths, carrot flies and apple scab.

Early warning of pests and diseases

For most pests, there is not yet any method of prognosis. For such pests, information on the current incidence (early warning) is given based on regular field observations and assessments of pests and diseases. During the growing season, observations are made in approximately 1100 fields per week. After processing and analysing these observations, a weekly summary is sent out to subscribers (mainly farmers and advisors). Appropriate measures are discussed in the weekly telephone conferences led by the Plant Protection Centres for each region. Participating in those conferences are local advisors as well as market representatives.

Identifying the symptoms or cause of disease

In order to avoid the unnecessary use of pesticides by using the wrong or ineffective substances on a suspected pest, the right diagnosis must first be made. It often takes special skills and equipment to determine the cause of symptoms and disease. Every year, the Plant Protection Centres receive a large number of samples from the advisory service and market agents.

Information

There is a great need for information concerning the use of pesticides, and the risks associated with their use. The Plant Protection Centres take an active part in a large number of courses, field excursions, telephone meetings as well as national and international conferences.

The centres also provide advisory and study material, take part in studies on environmental, weed, and plant protection issues. Furthermore, most of the information from Plant Protection is made available through digital channels, for instance through Apps or from the website of the Board of Agriculture.