vegetables

Sustainable
Farming
33
Focus
Regional treatment
planning with IPM
PESTS AND DISEASES IN AUSTRALIA ARE
DEALT WITH DIFFERENTLY, DEPENDING
ON THE REGIONAL TOOLS AVAILABLE
TO VEGETABLE GROWERS. IN THIS
ARTICLE, CHRIS MONSOUR FROM
PERACTO DISCUSSES THE SUCCESSFUL
IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED PEST
MANAGEMENT (IPM) PROGRAMS IN THE
REGION, WHILE DR PAUL HORNE FROM
IPM TECHNOLOGIES EXPLAINS THE NEED
FOR CONTINUED COLLABORATION TO
DEVELOP GROWER RESOURCES.
Within the different growing
regions of Australia,
major pest and disease issues
change with corresponding
environmental differences.
The tools available for growers
to deal with these issues have
been expanded through the
development of beneficial
insects or Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) techniques.
According to Chris Monsour
from Peracto, IPM is being
successfully implemented in
north Queensland to combat the
impact of two major insect pests
of vegetable crops in the Bowen
and Burdekin production areas.
“Silverleaf whitefly (SLWF)
and Green peach aphid (GPA)
are major pests of tomato,
capsicum and cucurbit crops in
the region,” Mr Monsour said.
“Both pests have a direct
impact on the health of these
crops via feeding damage
and both are vectors of very
debilitating plant viruses. SLWF
is the vector of Tomato yellow
leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and GPA
has in recent years been shown
to vector Potato leaf roll virus
(PLRV).”
The planning and systems
involved for these programs are
well developed for the grower
to be able to easily implement
them.
“This season has seen the
successful implementation of
IPM programs incorporating
regular crop monitoring,
strategic use of chemical
insecticides, inundative
releases of beneficial insects,
use of resistant varieties,
good farm hygiene and farm
planning,” Mr Monsour said.
“The availability of new
generation ‘soft’ insecticides are
highly effective against sucking
pests such as SLWF and GPA,
alongside releases of the
parasitoid wasps Eretmocerus
hyati for SLWF and Aphidius
colemani for GPA, which have
been highly effective in enabling
growers to manage these two
highly damaging pests during
the current season.”
Quality in collaboration
Dr Paul Horne is an
Entomologist and Director of
IPM Technologies, which has
been showing farmers how to
control pests with minimal use
of insecticides in situations
such as those in Bowen and the
Burdekin for 20 years.
In the last year, South
Australian growers have also
found support from a global
chemical company (Bayer
CropScience) and a chemical
reseller (DJ’s Growers in SA).
Dr Horne said there are several
reasons for the collaboration.
“Firstly, correct use of
the newer, more selective
insecticides such as BELT®
and MOVENTO® will mean that
the development of insecticide
resistance can be greatly
reduced. Secondly, selling
farmers the correct products
that are compatible with an IPM
approach will give them better
control of pests. Providing good
advice rather than simply a
product is important.”
The outputs of this project will
benefit growers in this region,
and ultimately the vegetable
industry as a whole through
developing the resources
available to growers.
“So far this collaboration
has meant running a training
workshop for seed potato
growers on Kangaroo Island in
conjunction with DJ’s and also
explaining IPM to several groups
of growers at seminars in the
Adelaide Hills,” Dr Horne said.
“In this coming season, the
Kangaroo Island growers will
have access to specialist IPM
advice whenever it is required.”