Ensuring food safety, animal health and welfare standards through development of innovative IPM programmes to control poultry red mite infestations
Background
The poultry red mite (PRM), Dermanyssus gallinae, is a major threat to the egg production industry worldwide and in the North-West European region in particular. The prevalence of PRM is extremely high and increasing; more than 90% of the farms in NWE are infected, causing economic losses of over 100 million annually. Red mite infestations pose serious animal health, welfare and public health concerns, and affect the productivity of the egg industry. Treatment of PRM is very challenging for farmers as only a few products are licensed for use during egg production and first stages of infestation are difficult to detect and to treat. A sustainable approach is needed to decrease chemical treatment, ban illegal treatment (and avoiding future fipronil-like crises), increase animal health and welfare and economic benefits and meet consumers’ demand for healthy food
(eggs with less pesticide residues).
Project
Researchers at M3BIORES are currently working as a project partner on a new Interreg North West Europe part-funded project to investigate novel methods for controlling Poultry Red Mite (PRM) in commercial laying hen systems. The MiteControl project will run from October 2018 until April 2022 and will build on recent research carried out by the COREMI-network.
The MiteControl project aims to develop effective and sustainable non-chemical treatment methods to control PRM infestation using an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach. This will include the development of an innovative camera based automated PRM monitoring system (precision livestock farming) as an early warning system to alert farmers that treatment is needed, and the improvement of non-chemical treatment products specifically; biological control with natural predators, essential oils-based products and a vaccine.
Through developing and improving these methods the project aims to reduce the use of chemical treatments on laying hen farms, improve hen health and welfare, increase productivity and meet consumer demands for healthy foods.
The project will bring together multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills from across Europe to jointly develop, test and improve IPM programmes.
M3BIORES will be responsible for the development, testing and demonstrating of an innovative automated monitoring technique (smart digital farming). This monitoring technique will serve as an early warning system to alert farmers that (extra) anti PRM treatments are needed.
For more information about the project which runs from 2019 until 2023, please visit the project website or contact Tomas Norton, Mina Mounir or Sam Willems in M3BIORES' research team.
