The wet spring, early summer conditions have favoured the return of a pest not seen for many years – slugs!  Damaging slug populations, reported in seedling crops in northern NSW and southern Queensland, have totally destroyed some pulse crops.  Increased slug activity may also be due to the increase in zero/minimum till and stubble retention practices which favour slug and snail development and survival. This is because the organic content of paddocks increases under such systems, providing an increased food source especially to young slugs and snails. Read More »