April 14, 2021 8:00 am
A group of four Fermanagh farmers have teamed up with AgriSearch and Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) to investigate different strategies to control leatherjacket populations in grassland.
The project is one of seven taking place under the new Northern Ireland European Innovation Partnership (EIP) scheme, which has been co-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Department of Agriculture, Environmental and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
Leatherjackets are the larvae of crane fly (commonly known as daddy-long-legs). They reach maturity in the spring, and feed on the roots and stems of grass or cereal plants and can cause significant loss of yield, seen in large bare patches.
The New Zealand flatworm (
arthurdendyus triangulates) can cut grass yields by around 7pc as a consequence of their impact on the native lobworms or large earthworm, experts have estimated.
The invasive species feeds on the unfortunate earthworm and can reduce numbers by up to 70pc where infestation levels are particularly high.
Since first being identified in the Belfast area in 1963, the New Zealand flatworm is now found throughout most of Northern Ireland and much of the South.
Dr Archie Murchie of the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in Belfast said Fermanagh was the only county in the North that did not appear to have New Zealand flatworms.