What was it all about?

This project aimed to identify the pest responsible for certain strawberry losses in Tasmania, after growers reported disfiguring damage due to bug infestations in 2012/2013.

The project also helped growers implement integrated pest management (IPM) practices which focused on cultural and biological management and the strategic use of select pesticides when necessary.

As a result of this work, the damage was identified as being caused by a mix of bugs from the Lygaeidae and Miridae families – a similar range of insects to those previously identified in a survey of Victorian strawberry crops. This finding indicated that strategies used in Victoria could be effective in combatting the problem in Tasmania.

The project included an IPM workshop, crop monitoring and bug identification and a season review workshop with expert support being provided to growers, including on-farm training. All Tasmanian growers, advisors and agronomists were invited to participate. The IPM workshop provided growers with an introduction to the topic with information, discussion and specimens.

Growers were also supplied with bug monitoring collection kits and advice on how to monitor, record, collect and transport samples.

The season review workshop was an interactive session incorporating grower experiences, feedback on monitoring and bug identification, management strategy development and future possibilities for pest management.

The project prompted the development of two resources for growers – a pictorial guide distinguishing the damaging mirid bugs from lygaeid bugs, and a pocket card field guide of beneficial and pest species.

ACT NOW

While both the pictorial guide to mirid and lygaeid bugs and the pocket field guide to beneficial and pest species were circulated in hard copy form, you can find digital versions in the appendix of the project’s final report (download from the top of this page).