Strategies Leading to Improved Management and Enhanced Resilience against Slugs (SLIMERS)

拟议的工业重点研究项目利用该财团的独特专业知识和能力来开发**经济高效的数字自主鼻涕监测、预测和精确处理工具，**从而提供改变农场游戏规则的解决方案，使英格兰各地的农民受益。在英国，鼻涕虫是造成每年4350万GB小麦和油菜作物损失的主要经济害虫。传统上，化学鼻涕虫的管理依赖于乙醛/灭虫威，然而，由于这些活性物质对环境的影响，这些活性物质在英国被禁止。到目前为止，磷酸铁是唯一有效的化学杀螺剂，但某些颗粒成分被认为会影响蚯蚓，当大量食用时，可能会毒死宠物。也有生物杀螺剂，但在农田和油料种子系统中使用不经济。AHDB估计，在不使用化学杀螺剂的情况下，英国农作物生产每年的平均总成本为1亿GB。因此，加强管理和监测是至关重要的。目前的监测协议使用现场避难所陷阱(例如带诱饵的植物托盘)。农民必须定期检查诱捕器，进行弹状物计数，并与AHDB的阈值限制进行比较。然而，许多农民没有进行这一繁重的关键实践，导致了不必要的化学杀螺剂的应用。因此，需要精确的服务来可靠地减少鼻涕球的使用，并以经济可行的方式实施替代的生物防治。该项目的成果可能会通过增强的数字自主段塞监测、预测和控制，帮助农场实现更高的产量、生产率、可持续性、净零目标、环境效益和弹性，从而对英国经济产生重大影响。

The proposed industrial focused research project utilises the consortium's unique expertise and capabilities to develop **cost-effective digital autonomous slug monitoring, forecasting and precision treatment tools,** thus delivering on-farm game-changing solutions to benefit farmers across England.Slugs are major economic pests causing £43.5M crop damage/annum for wheat and oilseed rape in the UK. Traditionally, chemical slug management relied on metaldehyde/methiocarb, however, these actives were banned in the UK due to their impact on the environment. To date, ferric phosphate is the only remaining active chemical molluscicide, but certain pellet ingredients have been noted as impacting earthworms and, when consumed in large quantities, can poison pets.Bio-molluscicides are also available but are uneconomical for use in arable and oilseed systems. Without chemical molluscicides, AHDB estimates total average annual cost to UK crop production \>£100M. Therefore, enhanced stewardship and monitoring is essential.Current monitoring protocols use in-field refuge traps (e.g. plant saucer with bait). Farmers must examine traps regularly, conduct slug counts and compare to AHDB thresholds limits. However, many farmers are not carrying out this laboursome key practice, resulting in unnecessary chemical molluscicide applications. Therefore, precision services are needed to reliably reduce slug pellet usage and implement alternative, biological control in an economically viable way.The outputs of the project have the potential to have a significant impact on the UK economy by helping farms achieve increased yields, productivity, sustainability, net zero targets, environmental benefits and resilience, through enhanced digital autonomous slug monitoring, forecasting and control.