Latest News• Add My News • Search Old News Gippsland › Latest news › Department of Primary IndustriesCockchafers: Are They There?Paddocks have been growing reasonably well in most areas of West and South Gippsland since regular rains started in April. Unfortunately East Gippsland has once again missed a lot of these falls and so is only slowly greening up. Given that last year was a bad year for cockchafer damage, particularly the red headed guys, it's appropriate to remind you to keep an eye out for signs of cockchafer damage to pastures. The adult beetles of the blackheaded cockchafer emerge from the ground in January and February and fly mainly in the evening. Females lay their eggs about 100 mm deep in the ground where pasture is very short. Young grubs of the blackheaded cockchafer come to the surface after the autumn break. They tunnel to the surface at night and feed on green pasture, remaining in their tunnels during the day. These larvae are whitish in colour with a distinctive brown or black head. Blackheaded cockchafers can be effectively controlled using a pesticide applied to the green pasture they are feeding on. Treatment may well be needed if 80 grubs per square metre or more are found after the autumn break. Similar to the blackheaded cockchafers, the redheaded cockchafer grubs are also curled and are creamy to greyish in colour. They have a red or yellow‑coloured head. The redheaded grubs have a life cycle of two years. They remain underground and chomp off the living and dead plant roots and other humus approximately 2 to 4 cm from the ground surface. In severely damaged areas and after a prolonged dry spell it may be possible to roll the affected pasture up like a carpet. This may be the case in East Gippsland. As good rains have continued in South and West Gippsland damage may not be so obvious since the continual supply of water is enough to keep the now "shortened or cockchafer pruned" roots moist, keeping the plants alive. Because these grubs never surface to feed, control is very difficult. However, a fungal product, called "Chafer Guard" is registered for their control. This needs to be drilled into the soil but will give reasonable levels of control for several years, thus offsetting the initial cost. Check with your local reseller. To check for cockchafers, dig into the soil in the unaffected pastures near where areas have become bare. If two or more grubs per spadeful of soil are regularly found then spraying may be required, particularly if large areas of pastures are being bared out. Dig over several positions and paddocks. Don't wait for large areas of dead pasture to show up before instigating control methods. For more information on control options talk to your DPI agronomist or your local reseller.Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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