Pest, disease and weed management

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://elibrary2.sugarresearch.com.au/handle/11079/13843

Research outcomes: A comprehensive RD&E program that addresses existing and emerging pests, diseases and weeds, allowing sugarcane growers to manage their crops efficiently with minimal environmental impacts. An enhanced industry capacity to deal with incursions of exotic pests, diseases and weeds.

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Author: search.filters.author.Samson, PRSubject: search.filters.subject.Canegrubs

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    A metarhizium-based product for control of cane pests : SRDC final report BSS134
    (BSES, 2000) Samson, PR; Robertson, LN; Milner, RJ; Bullard, GK
    The fungus Metarhizium anisopliae is a naturally occurring pathogen of soil insects in Australia. Metarhizium can be used as a bioinsecticide for control of canegrubs by mass-producing spores on rice and applying the resulting product into canefields. Numbers of greyback canegrub in plant cane have been consistently reduced by more than 50% when spores of isolate FI-1045 together with the rice medium have been applied at 33 kg/ha. About 18 t of this product were applied in semi-commercial trials in 1997-1999. The product was registered as BioCane™ Granules in March 2000. FI-1045 has also given some control of southern one-year canegrub. Another isolate, FI-147, significantly reduced numbers of negatoria canegrub the year after application into sugarcane ratoons, and increased cane yield. The same isolate was equally effective against French's canegrub in laboratory bioassays, and field trials are in progress against this pest. Trials have been less successful against Childers canegrub, and more effective isolates must be identified for this species. Trial results have been very poor against soldier fly; none of the isolates tested in bioassays was very virulent, and no further work is planned.
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    GrubPlan 2; developing improved risk-assessment and decision-support systems for managing greyback canegrub : SRDC final report BSS257
    (BSES, 2008) Samson, PR
    The vision of the project was to provide industry with refined greyback canegrub management systems complete with risk-assessment and decision-support models that could ultimately be deployed at a commercial consultancy level. The outputs of the project would allow proactive management of greyback canegrub by growers and their advisors.The specific objectives were to:1.Continue to develop and refine pest management packages for greyback canegrubs, incorporating regional forecasting, farm monitoring, on-farm risk assessment, decision aids and economic analysis, with groups of growers or individuals.2.Design and implement regional systems to monitor trends in greyback damage and management.3.Develop and validate models that predict the probability of greyback infestations from one year to the next.4.Determine the market acceptance and value of a greyback canegrub risk assessment and management program.
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    Feasibility of acoustic detection of canegrubs for better management decisions : SRDC final report BSS300
    (BSES, 2007) Samson, PR; Chandler, KJ; Mankin, R
    Monitoring of pest populations is a key to effective management of insects in many crops, allowing pest-control treatments to be applied when needed, and only when needed. Monitoring should be relied on more for management of canegrubs in sugarcane, but its widespread adoption is held back by the laborious task of digging up cane stools to assess grub populations. This project aimed to assess the feasibility of detecting grub populations by the sounds that they make below-ground. A researcher experienced in acoustic detection of hidden insects, Dr Richard Mankin from the United States Department of Agriculture in Florida, worked with BSES entomologists near Mackay and Bundaberg for 2 weeks in April-May 2007, using equipment that he brought with him. The investigations demonstrated that canegrubs can be detected readily in Queensland sugarcane fields during a time when worthwhile decisions could be made about future grub management. However, more work is needed to develop a system that could be deployed as a practical monitoring tool.