Beetle grubs force Salzburg farmers to renew damaged meadows

Beetle grubs are destroying grassland in Salzburg, forcing farmers to reseed or completely renew some meadows, ORF reports. The larvae eat grass roots, leaving the turf loose and sometimes easy to lift from the ground.

Farmers are already facing damage from drought, and the grub infestation is expected to reduce pasture and next year’s hay harvest further. Christina Weiß, a farmer in St. Martin am Tennengebirge, said she initially thought the damage was caused by heat and a lack of rain. After lifting the grass, she found the roots had been eaten and larvae were visible.

Repairing the fields brings extra costs for reseeding and fertiliser. In recent weeks, farmers across the districts have worked the soil with rotary cultivators and harrows to kill larvae and prepare seedbeds. In St. Martin, the Maschinenring Pongau, a machinery cooperative that supports farms, is also using equipment to sow new grass into damaged turf without turning over the whole field.

The work must be done quickly: as temperatures fall, the larvae retreat deeper into the ground. On steep slopes, heavy machinery can slide on the loosened turf, making the work dangerous. Farmers there may have to rely on fertiliser and sowing by hand.

Crows and badgers are also damaging affected grassland as they search for the grubs. The Pongau district farmers’ chamber recommends monitoring beetle activity from April to June to help gauge the likely scale of grassland damage later in the year.