This pest of blackcurrant is difficult to control using conventional means, as it can go through up to 4 generations within a single summer. Its occurrence in many growing areas, particularly in Europe, had reduced due to the widespread use of broad-spectrum pesticides for control of gall mite. However, the progressive withdrawal of such chemicals and the increasing interest in IPM strategies mean that an increase in leaf midge levels has already begun. Work to identify suitable natural predators of the midge such as Platygaster spp. that can be used in an integrated control system is in progress.
Differences in susceptibility exist between blackcurrant cultivars, and resistance in R. nigrum cultivars such as 'Ben Connan' appears to be due to larval antibiosis, rather than differences in volatile profiles. A dominant gene for resistance, Dt, was identified in R. dikuscha by Keep (1985).
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| Leaf curling midge |
Keep E (1985) The blackcurrant leaf curling midge, Dasyneura tetensii Rbs.: its host range and the inheritance of resistance. Euphytica 34, 801-809.
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