INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) Potato, onion and brassica growers in the Cradle Coast region have learnt new ways to tackle old enemies through a series of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) workshops. The training sessions helped growers to identify pests and to develop strategies that integrate a range of defences including the crop’s beneficial insects, surrounding environment and traditional chemical control measures.
CROP GROWERS TAKE AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO TACKLING PESTS IPM sessions were organised by Cradle Coast NRM and Serve-Ag in Latrobe, Penguin and Flowerdale and were open to primary producers, agronomists and field staff. Integrated Pest Management is a control strategy in which a variety of biological, chemical and cultural practices are combined to give stable, long -term pest control. IPM aims to maximise the use of biological control which refers to the role that beneficial insects and mites play as natural pest predators. Learning to identify and
encourage these species was an important part of the workshop training. Cultural control addresses the surrounding environment such as removing weeds that are hosts to pests, crop rotation and timing of planting. The third line of defence with an IPM approach is chemical control which, as examples, considers pesticides with minimal affect on beneficial insects and uses chemicals in a supportive role rather than the main option.
Technologies’ Jessica Page and entomologist Dr Paul Horne. Dr Horne was recognised as the Australian Vegetable Industry Award’s 2009 ‘Researcher of the Year’ for his work on IPM research, development and implementation. To ensure that the Cradle Coast growers are supported at key times in the crop cycle, the training participants also had access to follow-up workshops in Spring and Summer.
The training was delivered by Serve-Ag with IPM
INFORMATION SHEET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
IPM TRAINING
Insect ID Manual developed by the QLD government in conjunction with AusVeg and HAL. Link Publication: Integrated Pest Management for crops and pastures. Link Author Paul Horne and Jessica Page.
IPM training Oct 2010
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The project was delivered by Serve-Ag, supported by Cradle Coast Natural Resource Management (NRM) through funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country
PO Box 338 30 Marine Terrace Burnie Tasmania 7320 Phone: 03 6431 6285 Fax: 03 6431 7014 E-mail: nrm@cradlecoast.com www.cradlecoastnrm.com.