Recent reports have surfaced that best practice pest management guidelines are not always being followed in winter and spring-planted mungbean and soybean crops. There are reports of some crops in the Burdekin being sprayed unnecessarily for well-below threshold pest populations, and/or being sprayed with no regard for the GRDC’s widely publicised Insecticide Resistance Management Strategy (IRMS) for Helicoverpa armigera. Similar… Read more »
With current rainfall so uncertain, there is the potential for crop failures this season. If these crops are cut for hay, or grazed, it is critical that the withholding period (WHP) of any insecticide treatments are considered. The WHP is the minimum period that needs to elapse between the last use of the product and the harvesting or cutting of… Read more »
Outbreaks of Bruchidius mackenziei (unofficially called the soybean bruchid) have been reported recently in soybean crops in the South Burnett and North Queensland. The bruchids were detected at harvest and postharvest, their timing matching previous reports of this pest from the Darling Downs and Burnett in 2009/10. Bruchidius mackenziei is a native bruchid that is most likely not a true… Read more »
A common misconception is that, like humans, pests become more lethargic in hot weather. Unfortunately, the opposite is true—in most cases warmer weather actually speeds up pest growth with pests reaching a damaging size and pest populations increasing more quickly. Also, hot weather is often associated with little or no rain. And rain, particularly heavy rain, can suppress aphid, mite… Read more »
While agrochemicals are an important component of many pest management programs, care must be taken to ensure that any spray operations use registered products that are applied according to the product label. The manager of an Emerald farm has recently been fined $10,000, pleading guilty to a breach of the Chemical Usage (Agriculture &Veterinary) Control Act 1988 after significant levels… Read more »
A new resistance management strategy (RMS) for Helicoverpa armigera has been released for the northern grain production region. It is anticipated that it will be adopted first in the current chickpea crop. H. armigera is a major pest of grain crops and presents a significant management challenge due to the current reliance on chemical control, and resistance to several insecticide… Read more »
Winter—time to visit your storages As temperatures drop and hopefully winter crop planting is completed, a little time invested around your storage facility will pay dividends. During our coldest months storage pests are not breeding rapidly and are less likely to fly. They are quietly sitting in grain residues in empty silos, or keeping warm in silos still holding grain…. Read more »
Determining stored pest status in a silo full of grain can be a bit like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack, but a pilot study by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries on two farms in Southern Queensland indicated that a combination of sampling methods may provide a more accurate picture of pest species present. Increasing on-farm storage… Read more »
Aeration cooling uses fans on grain storages to lower grain temperatures, which helps maintain grain quality and reduce storage pest problems. When cooling grain using aeration, the aim is to reduce and keep grain temperatures below the following seasonal targets: Winter crops (stored November-March): below 23°C Summer crops (stored April-September): below 15°C Most insect storage pests prefer temperatures from 25-35°C… Read more »
Two new insecticides have recently been registered to control Bemisia tabaci B-biotype in cotton. Product Insecticide group Active ingredient Pest Exirel® anthranilic diamide (Group 28) cyantraniliprole SLW, Helicoverpa, cotton aphid (suppression only) Starkle® neonicotinoid (Group 4A) dinotefuran SLW & green mirid Exirel® was registered for cotton use in the 2013/14 season, and Starkle® has been registered for the current cotton… Read more »
