Pest evaluation services
Helping clients make informed decisions about pest and disease control
The ADAS Pest Evaluation Services team specialises in all aspects of nematology, entomology and pathology over a range of arable and horticultural crops. We can assist with:
- identifying a plant pest or disease problem
- creating pest control strategies for cost effective crop management
- complying with quality assurance production protocols
- developing effective integrated pest management techniques to minimise pest and disease risk
- maximising potential for organic production by assessing pest and disease pressure
- assessing insecticide capabilities.
We aim to help growers identify potential problems as early as possible and take swift, corrective action. Our assessments are invaluable if you are deciding to cultivate new land or considering new crop varieties.
Speak to the team
Expert and quality testing
Examination of plant material or soil for pests and nematodes
For any arable or horticulture pests, we can identify the species and the level of infestation from plant, soil or seed samples submitted to us. The type and quantity of sample you need to submit will depend on the pest.
For pests that undergo their larval stages within host plants, such as cabbage stem flea beetle, wheat bulb fly, or frit fly, we will carry out plant dissections to determine the infestation.
We can recover pests, particularly parasitic free-living nematodes and cyst nematodes from infested soil, plant material or seed.
More information about the type of samples we require is listed in our table. Alternatively, you can get in touch to discuss your needs.
Our full list of pest and disease evaluation services
| Service | Description | Results available in (working days) | Sample required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examination of soil for potato cyst nematodes (PCN) | Provides assessment of PCN infestation as number of cysts/100 g soil and number of eggs/g soil | 10 | 2–3 kg of soil from 30 cheese corer cores. Maximum area for a single sample should not exceed 4 ha |
| Speciation of PCN | Determines relative proportion of white and yellow PCN | Dependent on no. of samples | 2–3 kg of soil from 30 cheese corer cores. Maximum area for a single sample should not exceed 4 ha |
| Examination of soil for other cyst nematodes (cereal cyst, brassica cyst, carrot cyst, and beet cyst nematodes) | Provides assessment of PCN infestation as number of cysts/100 g soil and number of eggs/g soil | 10 | 2–3 kg of soil from 30 cheese corer cores. Maximum area for a single sample should not exceed 4 ha |
| Examination of soil for free living nematodes | Determines level of infestation as number/litre soil. Results interpreted in terms of potential for direct damage and virus transmission. | 10 | 2–3 kg of soil from 30 cheese corer cores. Maximum area for a single sample should not exceed 4 ha |
| Examination of soil for other pests (wireworms, leatherjackets, wheat bulb fly, cabbage root fly, saddle gall midge, pea midge, blackcurrant leaf midge, or wheat blossom midge) | Determines level of infestation | 10 | 20, 10 cm diameter x 15 cm deep soil cores per sample |
| Examination of seed for stem nematode | Determines level of infestation in bean seed | 2 | Minimum of 600g of seed |
| Examination of plants for pests (beetle larvae, frit fly, wheat bulb fly, yellow cereal fly, cabbage stem flea beetle) | Determines level of infestation of up to 50 plants | 10 | 50 randomly sampled plants |
| Examination of cereals for wheat bulb fly | Determines level of infestation of up to 50 plants with less than 3 tillers | 10 | 50 randomly sampled plants |
| Examination of soil for cabbage root fly eggs | Determines level of infestation of soil from around marked plants | 2 | Weekly sample of soil from around 20 marked plants |
| Examination of plants for nematodes (leaf, bud, and stem nematodes) | Determines level of infestation | 10 | Sample of plant material suspected of being infected |
| Examination of soil for Verticillium dahliae | Determines level of infestation of soil for potatoes and strawberries | 30 | Sample from a 10 m x 20 m grid pattern. A single cheese core sample per grid to depth of 20 cm to give 50 cores/ha (approx. 2 kg soil). Max area for a single sample should not exceed 4 ha |
| Viability testing of potato cyst nematode eggs and larvae | Determines viability of eggs and larvae of PCN by staining techniques | 15 | 2–3 kg of soil from 30 cheese corer cores. Maximum area for a single sample should not exceed 2 ha |
If you would like to order a test or want to enquire about costs, you can contact us via enquiries@adas.co.uk.
About the ADAS Pest Biology Laboratory
At our Pest Biology Laboratory in North Yorkshire, we conduct applied research into insecticide and biopesticide capabilities, integrated pest management and insect biology.
We test to the highest standards using internationally recognised protocols and maintain a wide range of pest and beneficial species that are important to UK agricultural systems.
- Insecticide resistance testing
- Baseline sensitivity testing for new active substances
- Investigations into the sub-lethal impact of insecticides to minimise risk to non-target species
- Pest life history experiments to uncover the effect of insecticides at specific life stages