Grassland pests – an unseen enemy

Abstract

Except when it is newly sown, pasture grass in the UK rarely shows any obvious sign of attack by the large burden of insects and other invertebrates that inhabit it. As a result of studies carried out over the past ten years, however, it now seems that large and widespread losses do occur as a result of insect pest damage. Lowland ryegrass-dominant swards are worst affected and may lose up to a third of the total annual yield, but there is a wide range of varietal susceptibility.