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New Tool To Tackle Fruit Pests

Pests beware - a revised Department of Primary Industries (DPI) pocket guide released today will help stone and pome fruit growers unlock the signs of invasion.

By Department of Primary Industries - 11th September 2009 - Back to News

First published in 1996, the pocket guide - 'Pests of pome and stone fruit and their predators and parasitoids' was quickly taken up by the fruit industry and its associated service industries.

The original guide has inspired the production of similar publications in other countries and in other industries within Australia.

DPI Scientist Mallik Malipatil said the new guide, which aids the identification of 68 orchard pests and beneficial insects and mites, will play a key role in early identification.

"It is an important resource for training fruit industry staff, consultants and chemical resellers in integrated pest management," Dr Malipatil said.

"Usually the first sign of pest activity is plant damage – fruit with bored holes, leaves rolled or webbed together or trunks with lumpy galls.

"This damage can be used to help identify the particular pest – the guide has a key to assist with identification.

"The guide also helps growers identify the various life stages of insects and mites that they find on the tree or in monitoring traps. Effective control strategies often differ depending on the particular pest and the stage of its development – immatures (grubs, maggots or caterpillars) or adults (weevils, beetles, flies, moths or bugs)."

A wide range of beneficial insects such as predators and parasitoids feed on the pests that attack fruit trees.

The guide will assist pome and stone fruit growers, home gardeners, integrated pest management consultants, field workers, students and researchers with identification of major pest and beneficial insects and mites found in Australian orchards.

Dr Malipatil said the guide is designed to be used in the field so fits into a shirt pocket.

"It includes colour photographs of species, with keys that can be used to confirm identity," he said.

DPI entomologists can assist with confirmation of insect species. For more information or to order a copy of the guide visit www.dpi.vic.gov.au or call (03) 9210 9356.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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