What is it all about?

This investment is optimising the Australian apple and pear industry’s approach to integrated pest and disease management (IPDM) with a focus on profitability.

The research will provide apple and pear growers with methods and systems that  target orchard systems and habitat management; impactful biological control using classical, augmentative and conservation biological control practices; and grower-friendly decision support that prioritises efficient pest and disease monitoring, thresholds, and crop and soil health.

The project’s key goals are to:

1. Develop effective and efficient monitoring tools for key pests and beneficials.
2. Develop evidence-based economic thresholds to inform pesticide application decisions.
3. Establish pest tolerance levels beyond which pest attacks  cause significant economic loss.
4. Develop effective orchard management practices that support habitat and food source availability, balanced parasitoid/predatory populations, and reduce soil compaction and soil loss.
5. Demonstrate the efficacy of biological control of major pests and diseases, such as codling moth, light brown apple moth, apple scab and root rot,
6. Develop a risk matric for the key pests in each growing region indicating the efficacy of the available control options and the need for adoption of a suit of integrated management tools.

The project builds on the strong research and extension foundations of the collaborative Productivity, Irrigation, Pests and Soils (PIPS) program.