Completed project
A benefit/cost assessment in citrus integrated pest management following the application of soil amendments (CT10022)
Publication date: October 12, 2014
Delivery Partner: South Australian Research and Development Institute
Kelly’s citrus thrip is a key pest of citrus in the Riverland-Sunraysia region. It is known to have reduced the packout of export quality fruit and to render some fruit unsaleable in Navel and Valencia oranges, lemons and grapefruit.
Control programs rely heavily on organophosphate insecticides, but populations are developing resistance resulting in increased spraying and disruption of integrated pest management.
Earlier work demonstrated that applying compost could reduce the emergence of the thrips from soil by more than half, by boosting populations of soil-dwelling predatory mites. This project set out to investigate how long these benefits last.
Researchers applied composts of recycled green organics, grape mark and animal manure then assessed yields and the size and quality of harvested fruit.
The key outcomes were…
Use of compost in production could be a way for growers to avoid increased spraying of insecticides, which is not only costly but disrupts integrated pest management.
This project was a strategic levy investment in the Hort Innovation Citrus Fund
© 2026 Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited.
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