Insects make a meal of horticulture
Pests cost Australian primary producers approximately $5.3 billion annually in management and production losses. Managing pests absorbs precious time and effort with around 72% of the estimated cost being in the working hours devoted to managing pests (and weeds) (2023, DAFF). Globally, 15 per cent of food loss is due to insect pests and that’s after an estimated $15 billion investment in nearly half a million tonnes of insecticide (2023, Advance Queensland).
In Queensland alone, the horticulture industry has witnessed the devastating impact of Fall Armyworm (FAW). First documented in Australia in January 2020, the damage to crops in just over four years has been significant.
This year, seasonal conditions coupled with late-planted crops created a perfect storm for early onset of FAW, resulting in the most severe infestation in Queensland to date.
Other insect pests causing the endless frustration across multiple crops are Fruit Spotting Bug (FSB) and Queensland Fruit Fly (QFly).
Growers at the coalface of the FAW infestation and a multitude of pest problems recently came together in Gympie to share challenges, discuss strategies that were working, and hear from entomologists, agronomists and industry representatives.
The Pest Sense workshop was coordinated by Growcom Hort360 GBR Facilitator Michelle Haase and Suncoast Gold’s Grower Services Officer, Paul Hibbert.
Discussions covered:
Agtech solutions such as RapidAIM sensors for FAW, QFly, and macadamia nut borer.
Commitment and patience using beneficial insects for FSB (anecdotally effective in reducing pest impact from 25% to 5%).
Investing in netting and bagging.
Cover cropping, interrow management, and push/pull cropping practices to attract pests away from crops.
Engaging experts to support scouting, and how to undertake effective monitoring practices.
Biological control products such as Magnet which attracts and kills pest moths (such as FAW).
Participating in area wide programs to assist in forecasting and management (such as the FAW sensor network being coordinated through the VegNET project).
A significant non-insectivorous pest challenge raised by growers were pigs and other vertebrate pests, with growers investing over and above six figures on losses and exclusion fencing due to the extent of the damage and crop losses.
Strong themes emerging from Pest Sense were that clustered grower collaboration to prevent, detect, and control both insectivorous and vertebrate pests is crucial to effectively deal with them; growers have extensive experience and are using multiple tools in the toolkit to manage pests all year round. Support from non-grower neighbours and land managers to control pests is another important part of the pest puzzle.
Pest Sense was the first in the ‘Pests, Dirt, and Fert’ peer-to-peer workshop series funded by the Integrated Engagement and Capacity Building project through the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program. The workshop was supported by BFVG’s VegNET project (funded by grower levies and the Australian Government).
