Trichogramma release capsule in corn whorl

Mulgowie Farming Company

Mulgowie Farming Company has been using Trichogramma wasps for around five years now, and it has become the corner stone to our IPM strategy in sweetcorn.

By releasing Trichogramma wasps and using only "soft" or biological spray applications we have been able to reduce our grub damage while at the same time reducing our spray applications and totally avoiding the use of heavy chemicals.

This is a win-win situation by reducing spraying costs and producing an environmentally friendly product that is healthier for people and the environment.

Andrew Johanson - Production Manager

Parasitised heliothis egg on corn silk Richard Llewellyn

Gough's Farms, Macksville, NSW

We are in our third season of using Trichogramma wasps as our number one line of defence against Heliothis caterpillars in green beans and I can sleep at night. For the previous 20 plus years I was spraying at night to control Heliothis and it was to the stage that the grubs were waiting for their feed.

I investigated the IPM concept and discussed it with family members and then we took the plunge. I was not comfortable at first with the transition from heavy spray schedules to just relying on tiny wasps but they proved absolutely marvellous. Our hand pickers commented on the total absence of grub holes. It was true no Heliothis eggs were getting past the wasps. In the last three years I have learnt a lot about fine tuning the program for insect control but the major player in the program is the Trichogramma Wasp.

Yes there are some other minor insect worries that pop up but they can be beaten and we here at Gough's Farms have reduced our insecticide usage by over 90%. In these days of environmental concern that has got to be good.

Scott Gough - Owner / Manager

Rehbein Family Co., Bundaberg Qld.

Walking through a field of sweet corn releasing Trichogramma once a week verses spraying methomyl 2-3 times a week sure makes life easier.

My family have been growing sweet corn for three years. Our first year followed the traditional method of using hard chemicals to wipe out Heliothis and other insects. Crops were monitored weekly by external consultants. We were spraying 2-3 times per week and up to 15 applications per crop.

The second and current year has seen us move towards an IPM system. Gemstar® is used from early in the crop until post silking, depending on the time of year and pest threshholds. Trichogramma is distributed twice in a crop pre-tasselling. Our early crops required Success® once due to high pressures of heliothis as the imported Trichogrammas hadn't built up in numbers quick enough. Early parasitism counts were between 40-60%.

We have stopped spraying Gemstar® during winter and only release Trichogramma. This is a huge saving in time and money. Having the sprayer sit in the shed is hard to get used to. Once Trichogramma has built up in numbers we have had parasitism counts between 85-100%. This IPM system has worked well for us. However, our thresholds are much lower as we are entirely pre-pack, topping and tailing the corn.

My wife and children like the fact that their Dad is home earlier and that they know he is not handling hard chemicals.

Anthony Rehbein - Owner/Manager