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Case Studies - Sustainable Agriculture |
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Title of project: Efficacy of insecticide seed treatments against pest earth mites in canola
Client: Syngenta Crop Protection
Project Outline: The redlegged earth mite (Halotydeus destructor) and blue oat mites (Penthaleus sp.) are major establishment pests of crops and pastures in Australia. This experiment compared two industry standard canola seed dressings – imidacloprid (Gaucho®) and fipronil (Cosmos®) – with several new formulations. Seed treatments provide targeted and environmentally friendly protection to crops from many invertebrate pests, when crops are at the critical establishment phase. Untreated control plots had fewer plants per square metre, higher plant damage scores and lower crop vigour scores than all insecticide treated plots at all sampling dates. Several of the new chemical formulations performed particularly well and will now be tested further with the ultimate aim of gaining APVMA registration.
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Title of project: Review of the biology and ecology of green mirids relevant to the development of novel control methods
Client: Hexima Limited
Project Outline: Green mirids (Creontiades dilutus) are polyphagous pests, endemic to Australia. They have recently become important pests of Australian cotton, primarily due to a decrease in insecticide use associated with the introduction of transgenic cotton varieties. The aim of this review was to provide information on aspects of the biology and ecology of green mirids, which will aid in the development of novel control strategies. Specifically, it covered their lifecycle, feeding behaviour, host plants, pest status, current control methods, bioassays for testing new control methods and laboratory-rearing techniques. Using this knowledge, researchers should be able to successfully rear large numbers of green mirids and conduct meaningful laboratory bioassays to assess the efficacy of novel control products.
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Title of project: Preliminary assessment of pesticide mixtures against the redlegged earth mite
Client: FMC Australasia
Project Outline: The redlegged earth mite (Halotydeus destructor) is a major invertebrate pest, attacking a variety of crops and pastures in southern Australia. Recently, insecticide resistance has been identified in some populations in the field. The aim of this project was to determine the relative susceptibility of a resistant redlegged earth mite population to bifenthrin (formulated as Talstar®), several ‘softer’ chemicals, as well as mixtures of these products. Mites resistant to broad-spectrum insecticides, such bifenthrin, did not exhibit resistance to any ‘softer’ chemical tested, suggesting these products could play an important role in the management of resistant redlegged earth mites in the future. Recommendations for future trials are made to fully examine the synergistic and additive effects of mixes between conventional and soft chemicals.
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Title of project: Efficacy of petroleum spray oils against several agricultural insect and mite pests
Client: Caltex Australia Petroleum
Project Outline: There are several mite, aphid and moth species that are important pests of canola and pulses, and these species are largely controlled using broad-spectrum pesticides. This project examined the efficacy of a petroleum spray oil (PSO; formulated as Canopy®) against several pests in both laboratory and field trials. The preliminary results indicate PSO’s negatively affect adult earth mites, as well as inducing mortality in mite eggs. They also reduced aphid numbers significantly, while being relatively harmless to beneficial organisms. These combined effects suggest that PSO’s could be used in insect and mite control programs in broad-acre agriculture, providing a more sustainable alternative to conventional pesticides currently used. Large-scale trials are continuing to determine the efficacy of these products in the field, as well as examine different application rates and timing of applications.
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Title of project: Industry Training Insect Identification Workshops
Clients: Bayer Crop Sciences, Elders and Victorian Department of Primary Industries
Project Outline: There has been a steady decline in specialist entomological skills in Australia. This is worrying because with increasing international trade, incursions and new pest problems are likely to occur more frequently. Versatile, well-trained people are needed who can address these issues. Furthermore, correct insect identification of both pest and beneficial invertebrates is critical to the success of integrated pest management (IPM) programs. In conjunction with SARDI Entomology, specialist training workshops have been developed covering general identification of crop and pasture insects and mites, IPM, resistance issues and sampling/monitoring techniques. These have been delivered to hundreds of industry personnel.
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Title of project: Distribution of the wheat curl mite in Tasmania
Client: Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water
Project Outline: The aim of this project was to ascertain the presence and distribution of the wheat curl mite in Tasmania. The wheat curl mite is a small mite that is primarily responsible for transmitting the damaging plant virus, the wheat streak mosaic virus. Wheat curl mites were detected in Tasmania for the first time, with a distribution that broadly covers the entire area sampled in the north-west and the eastern part of the state. Two species of wheat curl mite were detected using molecular tools and several ‘high risk zones’ for wheat streak mosaic virus outbreaks identified.
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Title of project: The effect of chemical compounds against important agricultural pests, the redlegged earth mite, blue oat mites and the balaustium mite.
Client: Syngenta Crop Protection
Project Outline: Pesticides provide the main basis for controlling earth mites in pastures and commercial crops. The discovery that species respond differently to currently registered chemicals, combined with the recent development of chemical resistance in some populations of redlegged earth mites, have led to a demand for ‘softer’ alternatives. This study examined the impacts of one contact and several trans-laminar pesticides against these pest species using toxicology bio-assays. The findings lead to preliminary recommendations for chemical control using trans-laminar compounds against the redlegged earth mite, blue oat mites and balaustium mites in the field.
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