Cicada Plague Ruins Millions in German Agriculture - Potatoes at Risk
European Union Status Report Unveiled by European Commission
Small, winged insects known as reed glass-winged cicadas have been wreaking havoc on agricultural production, particularly in southern regions of Germany. Affected crops include sugar beets, potatoes, onions, and other vegetables like celery, red beets, cabbage, carrots, and sometimes rhubarb and bell peppers.
Sugar beets were the first to succumb, followed by potatoes and now onions. Multiple factors, such as climate change, contribute to the spread of these pests. Unfortunately, their bites transmit the bacterium Candidatus Phytoplasma solani, causing the disease Stolbur, which leads to wilting plants and rubbery roots and tubers. The result? Massive yield losses, poor crop quality, and even total crop failures.
Potatoes, a staple food for Germans, are one of the foods the nation primarily produces domestically. As per the Union of German Potato Growers (UNIKA), around 65,000 hectares are currently at risk, with cicada-prone areas overlapping with cultivation. The warmer south, where the cicada problem is already significant, shows the most signs of potato damage, such as in Karlsruhe and the Hohenloher Ebene.
The agricultural cicada has spread from Baden-Württemberg to Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and several other areas across Germany. Climate change, favoring the thriving mass multiplication of the cicada, plays a significant role in the disease's spread.
Consumers hitherto face no health risks from 'Stolbur'. Spoiled and rubbery potatoes and vegetables do not make it to the market. However, the continued spread of the disease could mean less access to domestic potatoes come fall, especially in the south.
Farmers are bearing the brunt of these cicada-driven losses, with significant yields lost in all relevant beetroot and potato-growing areas in Baden-Württemberg. Intense sorting efforts and disposal necessitated by the disease add to their financial strain.
The threat posed by Stolbur has escalated thanks to its expanding range of affected crops and the lack of effective countermeasures. Aside from climate change, farmers are demanding political action to bring about the use of effective cicada-control methods. Research into resistance breeding is also urgently needed to tackle this growing agricultural challenge.
While the specific measures for controlling cicada populations in Germany are yet to be detailed, general approaches include monitoring and surveillance, biological control, chemical control, cultural practices, public awareness, and research. Consulting local agricultural authorities or research institutions is advisable for the most accurate and up-to-date information.
- The impact of the cicada plague on German agriculture extends beyond sugar beets, affecting potatoes and other vegetables like onions, leading to concerns about foodstuffs and nutrition in the country, particularly during fall.
- In the realm of environmental science, climate change is exacerbating the spread of the reed glass-winged cicadas, contributing to the devastation in agriculture that also impacts health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise through the loss of essential foodstuffs like potatoes.
- To mitigate the threat of Stolbur and preserve the production of vegetables and foodstuffs in Germany, researchers are urgently focusing on resistance breeding, while agricultural authorities are considering various approaches, including chemical control, biological control, and public awareness, to manage cicada populations and protect crops vital for the nation's health-and-wellness and environmental-science sectors.
