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Part B. Pest surveillance and management
in the Sydney Basin
1. Surveillance for important pests
1.1 Introduction
In the Sydney Basin, Asian vegetables are grown primarily on small-sized (5-10 hectare) market
gardens. They are mostly Chinese and Vietnamese speaking growers who depend on family labour for
their production. There are very few exceptions where growers have larger-scale production (10-20
hectare) using hired labour.
When the initial surveys were carried out, all the crops in all the farms were grown in soil. Most crops
were grown in the open, while some crops, particularly in the Vietnamese farms, were grown under
cover in polyhouses. Later in the project, some growers started using hydroponic systems (nutrient
film technique in PVC channels) to grow some leafy vegetables.
Many crops, such as brassicas, are grown throughout the year, while others such as melons, chillies
and eggplants are not grown in the cooler months.
1.2 Methods
Several visits were made to 23 farms throughout the course of this project. Plants were shaken over a
white tray and insects were examined with a binocular magnifier. Suspected pests and beneficials were
collected and stored for closer examination and identification later in the laboratory. Growers were
also interviewed (in many cases with the assistance of a bilingual officer) to determine their pest
control strategies and pesticide use.
Thrips were slide mounted and identified using published taxonomic keys at the EMAI laboratories of
the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Some insects were sent to the Insect Identification Unit at
Orange Agricultural Institute of the NSW Department of Primary Industries for further identification
and confirmation.
1.3 Results and discussion
The insects and mites collected and identified during the survey are listed below in Table B1.
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