Sometimes scientific or industry-specific terminology is not commonly used elsewhere. To assist readers we’ve provided a glossary of pest and disease identification and management terms, including some of the more common broadacre industry acronyms.
Abiotic. Physical rather than biological (not derived from living organisms).
Action threshold. See threshold.
Adjuvant. A substance added to a spray mixture to enhance performance or overcome an inhibiting factor. Examples include wetting agent, sticker, thickener, buffering agent etc.
Allelopathy. The chemical inhibition of one organism by another.
AMF (formerly VAM). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi symbiotically colonise plant roots, transferring extra nutrients, especially phosphorus, from the soil in exchange for photosynthates from the plant.
Aphid colony. A closely placed population of aphids.
APVMA. Agricultural Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority. Australian Government organisation that approves registrations/permits for agricultural chemicals.
Area wide management (AWM). Growers working together in a region to manage pest populations.
Arthropod. A member of the taxonomic group Arthropoda, that includes insects and mites.
At-planting insecticide. Insecticides applied as a granule or spray in the seed furrow with the seed during planting. Note that some planting seed is sold with an insecticide coating pre-applied.
Band spraying. Applying pesticide to a selected area of the crop (e.g. the row or interrow) rather than the whole field to target a specific pest or reduce the total active used per hectare to save costs and minimise off-target impacts. See also spot spraying.
Beat sheet. Large sheet of yellow or white canvas, placed in the furrow and extended over the adjacent row. Plants are beaten against the sheet with a stick, dislodging insects which are quickly counted.
Beneficials. Biological agents that are beneficial to the crop, including natural enemies and pollinators.
Biological insecticides. Insecticides based on or derived from living organisms (e.g. NPV or Bt). Also referred to as biopesticides.
Biotic. Relating to or caused by living organisms.
Bollgard cotton. Genetically modified (GM) cotton containing Bt insecticidal proteins.
Broad-spectrum. Insecticides that kill a wide range of insects, including both pest and beneficial species. Their use, particularly early in the season, often leads to pest resurgence or flaring.
Bt. Toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis that are toxic to targeted insect species. Commercial releases of bt products include those targeting caterpillars and mosquitos.
Buffer zone. Unsprayed distance between the application site and downwind sensitive areas. For some products the distance is mandated on the label. For boom and aerial spraying, it is measured from the edge of the sprayer swath closest to the downwind sensitive area.
Calendar sprays. Application on a timed schedule, regardless of pest density or the actual need for pest control.
Carbamates. Broad-spectrum insecticides classified into MoA Group 1A.
Cauda. A tail-like protrusion found in most aphids, used for identification.
Come Clean. Go Clean. Cotton industry slogan promoting thorough cleaning to prevent transfer of pests between fields and farms.
Consecutive checks. Successive insect checks taken from the same field or management unit.
Cotton bunchy top (CBT). Cotton virus vectored by aphids.
Crop compensation. Plant’s capacity to ‘catch-up’ after insect damage without affecting yield or maturity.
Crop growth stages. Specific points in a crop’s development used to identify critical risk periods for damage or recommended management windows. In maize, this is often divided into numbered vegetative (V) vs reproductive (R) stages, wheat uses the Feekes scale of tillering, stem extension and heading and maturity, and cotton highlights flowering, squaring and boll filling/opening.
Damping off. Wilting, collapse and death of seedlings, usually due to infection by pathogens.
Day degree (DD). Unit combining temperature and time used to monitor and compare crop and insect development.
Diapause. Period of physiologically controlled dormancy in insects (e.g. at the pupal stage in the soil for Helicoverpa armigera).
Dryland. Non-irrigated cropping. Also referred to as ‘raingrown’.
D-vac. Small portable suction sampler or blower/vacuum machine used to suck insects from crop plants into a fine mesh bag.
Economic threshold. See threshold.
Efficacy. Effectiveness of a product or natural enemy against pests.
Egg parasitoids. Parasitic species that specifically target insect eggs, killing the developing host.
Exotic pests. Pests that have not yet been detected in Australia.
Flaring. Increase in an arthropod pest population (usually in species with very fast life cycles) following a pesticide application targeted at another species.
Food sprays. Natural food products applied to attract beneficials, particularly predators, into crops to help control pests. Yeast-based sprays attract; sugar-based sprays retain beneficials already present.
Frass. Insect faeces is an indicator of insect activity, and sometimes helpful for identification.
Fungicide. A substance used to kill or inhibit the growth of fungi.
Green vegetable bug adult equivalents (GVBAEQ). A calculation applied to a range of pulse bug pests to more easily apply economic thresholds. See also podsucking bugs.
GVB. Green vegetable bug. One of the set of podsucking bugs that are major pests of summer pulses.
Honeydew. Sticky sugar-rich waste excreted by sapsucking insects that can interfere with photosynthesis, promote sooty mould, and in cotton can affect lint quality and cause problems with fibre processing.
In-furrow insecticide. See at-planting insecticide.
Infested. A large number of pests are present. Also used as a sampling term to indicate a pest presence of more than a given number of pests (e.g. for aphid, mite or whitefly sampling).
Insect growth regulator (IGR). Compound that influences insect growth and development.
Insecticide. A substance used to kill or inhibit the growth of insects.
Insecticide Resistance Management Strategy (IRMS or RMS). Voluntary industry strategy that imposes restrictions on pesticide use to help prevent the development of insecticide resistance.
Instar. Juvenile insect development stages between moults.
Integrated disease management (IDM). The integration of appropriate disease control strategies with management of the whole farming system.
Integrated pest management (IPM). Using knowledge of pest biology, behaviour and ecology to implement a range of tactics in an integrated way to suppress or reduce pest populations.
Larva (plural: larvae). Immature ‘grub’ stage of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis (e.g. moths, beetles, flies, lacewings). See also pupa.
Lesion. A localised, defined area of diseased tissue.
Management unit. Farm area managed in the same way for the purposes of sampling and insect management.
Maximum residue limit (MRL). Maximum amount of pesticide residue legally permitted on food products, based on levels considered toxicologically acceptable.
Miticide. A substance used to kill or inhibit the growth of mites. Miticides may also have activity against other arthropds.
Mode of action (MoA). Pesticide classification scheme based on target site that aims to prevent the development of cross-resistance to related pesticide compounds.
Monitoring. Checking crops (for insects, damage, signs of disease, growth stages etc). Also commonly called sampling. Often refers to the gathering of data only; interpretation and management recommendations are then generated based on the data collected.
Mycorrhizae. See AMF.
Natural enemies. Predators, parasitoids and pathogens of pests.
Natural mortality. Expected death rate of insects in the field due to environmental factors (including natural enemies).
No-spray zone. See buffer zone.
NPV (nucleopolyhedrovirus). An entomopathogenic virus. Commercial formulations targeting Helicoverpa are available in Australia.
Nymph. Immature insect stage that looks like the adult but without wings (e.g. bugs, thrips, mites). Nymphs go through a series of moults and do not pass a pupal stage.
Organophosphates (OPs). Broad-spectrum insecticides classified into MoA Group 1B.
Parasitoid. Insect that lays its eggs on or in another arthropod; the larva develops within the host, killing it on emergence.
Parthenogenesis. Reproduction occurs without fertilisation, resulting in a genetic clone.
Pathogen. Microorganism that causes disease (e.g. Fusarium wilt is the disease caused by a soil-inhabiting fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vasinfectum (Fov)).
Perimeter spray. Appling pesticide to the edge of a field to manage initial pest incursions, particularly of species migrating in from nearby fields.
Permits (APVMA). Permits are issued by the Australian Pesticides and Vetinary Medicines Authority to legalise the off-label use of pesticide product or active for a specific minor use or in an emergency.
Pesticide. A substance used for destroying or inhibiting organisms that are harmful to agricultural production.
Planting window. Restriction on planting time used to restrict the number of pest generations exposed to particular control measures.
Podsucking bugs (PSB). A group of sucking bugs that are pests of pulses, of which green vegetable bug is the most common. For threshold purposes, potential damage is converted to green vegetable bug adult equivalents (GVBAEQ).
PPE. Personal protective equipment used when handling/applying pesticides.
Presence/absence (sampling). Noting presence or absence of a numerous pest rather than counting absolute numbers.
Prophylactic sprays. Insecticides applied in anticipation of a potential pest problem (rather than in response to a threshold). These ‘insurance’ sprays are usually not recommended due to increased costs, selection for insecticide resistance, and the risk of secondary pest outbreaks.
PubCRIS (Public Chemicals Registration Information System). APVMA’s searchable database of agrochemcials registered for use in Australia, including products with off-label permits (portal.apvma.gov.au/pubcris).
Pupa (plural: pupae). Lifestage for species with complete metamorphosis where larva undergoes transformation into an adult (e.g. from caterpillar to moth).
Pupae busting. Tillage to reduce the survival of overwintering pupae.
Re-entry period. Mandatory period between chemical application and re-entry to the treated area.
Refuge. Area left untreated with an insecticide or technology that generates unexposed susceptible individuals to act as a dilution factor when mating with resistant adults.
Resistance (to pesticides). When individual pests (arthropods, weeds or pathogens) develop a mechanism for dealing with a particular pesticide or mode of action group, potentially resulting in poor control (less than expected) or control failures (much less than expected).
Resurgence. Increase in a targeted arthropod pest population following a pesticide application. Usually due to a reduction in beneficial populations.
Rotation crops. Other crop types grown before or after the primary crop to assist with pest management (including reduction of disease inoculum), improve soil health, act as a fumigation agent etc.
Sampling (for pests). See monitoring.
Scouting. See monitoring.
Secondary pests. Pests that do not usually become a problem unless their natural enemies (predators or parasitoids) are reduced in number by insecticides. See also pest flaring.
Seed treatment. Insecticide and/or fungicide seed coating available for some crops that offers protection during germination and establishment.
Selection pressure. Pesticide sprays remove susceptible individuals. More selection events from a particular chemical group leads to greater ‘pressure’ or chance of selecting a resistant population.
Siphunculi. Pair of wax-secreting tubular organs on the abdomen of aphids (also called cornicles).
SLW. Silverleaf whitefly.
‘Soft’ approach. Managing insect and mite pests using options that have minimal impact on beneficial populations.
Spot spraying. Applying pesticide to selected areas of the crop or fallow (e.g. targeting insect or disease hotspots) rather than the whole field to save costs and minimise off-target impacts.
Sucking pests. Bugs with piercing mouthparts (e.g. mirids, aphids, whitefly).
Sweep net. Large cloth net with long handle used to sample insects in the upper canopy.
Synthetic insecticides. Non-biological insecticides (artificial versions of natural insecticides or synthetic molecules with insecticidal/miticidal activity).
Systemic pesticide. Pesticide that is taken up through plant tissue (as opposed to remaining on the surface) and transported through the plant’s vascular system.
Synthetic pyrethroids (SPs). Broad-spectrum insecticides classified into MoA Group 3A.
Terminal. Uppermost growing point, particularly on the main stem.
Threshold. The point at which an action is taken. Action thresholds are based on a level/number of pests/ damage. Economic thresholds consider the commodity value and treatment cost to identify a ‘break even’ point.
Tipping. Loss of the terminal, causing the plant to develop multiple stems.
Trap crop. Small area of more attractive host plants that concentrates a pest population to allow easier management. Trap crops are not the same thing as refuges, which aim to dilute the occurrence of resistant genes in pest populations.
Tubercles. Small knob-like or rounded protuberances between the antennae of some insects (e.g. aphids).
Vegetative barrier. Deliberately planted vegetation strips designed to protect adjacent sensitive areas (remnant vegetation, waterways, other crops) by capturing airborne spray droplets.
Visual sampling. Counting insects in the field without the use of additional equipment such as a beat sheet.
Waterlogging. Excess water in a plant’s root zone decreases the oxygen available to roots.
Withholding period. Minimum period allowed between application of an agrochemical and crop harvest (or use for stockfeed).