A practice employed by many growers on the Northern Adelaide Plains is Integrated Pest Management, or IPM. In a nutshell, it is an environmentally sensitive method of managing pests that can introduce disease-causing microorganisms to the plants and helps growers produce better yields and quality with reduced use of agricultural chemicals.
The pests in question are organisms that damage or kill a crop. However, not all insects and mites are bad for business. “Good bugs” are used in IPM to manage the pests that cause problems for growers and their veggies.
We followed IPM Consultant Dr Stephanus Malherbe from Biological Services around a local farm to see the process, and met some interesting insects along the way.
Stephanus says there are many benefits of using IPM, “it reduces the development of chemical resistance, and increases the ability to control pests that are already resistant to chemicals.”
This can help growers overcome a common issue that is facing the industry. “A key problem at present is resistance in many major pests such as mites, aphids, whiteflies and thrips.”
“IPM is a big step towards sustainable agriculture.”
Biological Services is committed to helping growers future-proof their businesses by providing high quality beneficial organisms for environmentally sustainable pest control practices. This has the added benefit of reducing reliance on regular agricultural chemical treatments. The team also provides expert consulting and technical backup to help growers effectively manage IPM programs on their properties.
In February, Biological Services reported an exciting breakthrough in the fight against thrips, whitefly, and mites. Typhlodromalus lailae, a predatory mite native to Australia, is back under the microscope after its possible IPM application was re-discovered.
When T. lailae was first discovered in 1998, it was identified as a potential biological control agent for greenhouse cropping. Its appetite for thrips, whiteflies and eriophyid mites led Biological Services to attempt to commercialise the species for IPM. However the technology available at the time made it impossible to raise sufficient quantities of the species, so the project was shelved.
Nowadays, the advancement of the necessary technology means the research can continue, with a view to establishing T. lailae as an important new tool in the control of plant pests. If it all goes well, T. lailae may join the ranks of products available to help Australian growers combat pests.
Stephanus is the Team Leader of Biological Services’ operation in the Northern Adelaide Plains, and you can often find him among the crops with local food producers, monitoring the balance of “good” and “bad” bugs.
“We do most of our work on Capsicums, Cucumbers, Eggplants and Tomatoes grown in greenhouses.”
Check out the video below to learn more and to see Stephanus (and the bugs) in action.
Got questions about IPM? Ask them below in the comments!
