TaupiFAST2 project

A paradigm shift is needed to protect crops from wireworms.
The scientific, technical and economic challenges must be addressed urgently !

News

Achievements

Bringing together and supporting research into innovative technical solutions to protect crops against wireworms (2025-2029)

Issues

Many crops, especially potatoes, carrots, melons, maize and certain vegetables, suffer attacks from wireworm larvae every year.

On potatoes, carrots and melons, they :

damage crops by piercing them or digging tunnels in the edible parts

are causing an increasing number of downgrades, batch rejections and complaints in France and abroad, with serious economic repercussions

Despite intensified research efforts over the past decade, knowledge of their biology and ecology remains fragmentary and limited to a few species.

A paradigm shift is necessary in order to :

acquire knowledge about the biology and population dynamics of wireworms,

improve methods for assessing the risk of infestation and damage

develop sustainable protection strategies

Objectives

Thanks to a large, multi-sector consortium, the objective will be to develop, evaluate and deploy economically viable solutions at the crop and production system level with the aim of reducing the risk of wireworm damage to an acceptable level for the most sensitive crops, based on risk factors and the implementation of combinaisons of favourable practices at the rotation level, and not just during the crop cycle.

Gaining a better understanding of the biology and ecology of wireworms in order to target control measures during their most vulnerable stages

Identify and prioritise risk factors for infestation and damage before planting susceptible crops

Implement mutli-year approaches that take into account crop succession in rotation and the system

Take targeted action using appropriate control measures

Develop, validate, and implement integrative solutions and/or combinations of levers for farmers

Planned actions

Axis 1

To deepen knowledge of the biology, ecology, and population dynamics of wireworms and associated organisms in order to understand the associated risk factors

Axis 2

Evaluation of direct and indirect control solutions

Axes1et2

Axis 3

Integration of levers in the design and evaluation of technical routes limiting wireworm damage at the rotation scale

Axis 4

Transfer and deployment to the profession

Axes3et4

The funders

The TaupiFAST2 project falls under the remit of Plan d’Action stratégique pour l’anticipation du potentiel Retrait européen des Substances Actives et le Développement de techniques Alternatives pour la protection des cultures (PARSADA, n°927529).

It is financed by funds from ecological planning.

The results of the project are made available free of charge to all companies operating in the agricultural sector.

The Ministry of Agriculture cannot be held liable.