YOUR PRODUCTION
Management of six-spotted mite s d r a h c r o o d a c o v a in WA's BY ALISON MATHEWS RESEARCH SCIENTIST, DPIRD
W
estern Australia’s growing avocado industry is being supported to confidently protect its orchards by managing the pest sixspotted mite (Eotetranychus sexmaculatus) through the provision of science, advice and protocols. A new three-year project, Management of six-spotted mite in WA avocado orchards — Phase 2, commenced late last year to identify and develop effective six-spotted mite management options for avocado orchards incorporating cultural, biological and chemical practices. It is building on the work of the previous six-spotted mite project that finished in 2019.
Knowledge gained from the current, six-spotted mite project will lead to the development of integrated pest management guidelines for the WA avocado industry intended to improve marketable yield, promote the uptake of established on-farm best practice, and help ensure increased competitiveness in the global marketplace. The guidelines will include information on when and how to monitor for pest and predatory mites, and the role of both natural and mass reared predatory mites in six-spotted mite management. The relationship between tree health, mite numbers and leaf fall, and miticide application recommendations incorporating resistance management, the impact of chemical control on beneficial species, and the effect of timing and application method on control, will also be covered.
Avocado industry stakeholders will be advised of field walks and workshops to be held during the project.
Current and future activities Monitoring of six-spotted mite in avocado orchards commenced in January 2020 and for the past six months, the project team has visited 12 trial orchards every fortnight to survey six-spotted mite, predatory mites and other beneficial insects.
This surveillance program helps confirm seasonal trends, identify sites suitable for coming trials, and determine the impact of various management strategies on pest and predatory mite populations. Mite numbers are generally low in summer and winter, with the most rapid increase and highest numbers experienced in spring, when trees are under stress from holding near mature fruit and supporting new vegetative growth, flowers and newly setting fruit. Spring is therefore the most critical time for mite monitoring and management, and leaf fall resulting from mite damage. Planned activities for the first spring season of the project include:
Monitoring of sixspotted mite in avocado orchards commenced in January 2020. 14
WA Grower SPRING 2020
• Releasing mass reared predatory mites that are yet to be tested in a field situation and measuring their impact on pest mite numbers; • Applying prey/pollen treatments in an effort to increase the number of predatory mites already present in orchards and measuring their impact on pest mite numbers;
