Crop Monitoring

Regular monitoring forms the basis to a successful integrated pest management (IPM) program.

Integrated Pest Management P/L (Bugs for Bugs) provides growers with a comprehensive monitoring service. We have a team of trained scouts who visit each orchard on a regular cycle. The scouts who visit each orchard recognise both pest and beneficial species and understand how they interact in an orchard environment.

A thorough understanding of the impact of inputs such as insecticides, miticides and fungicides on both pests and beneficial insects is also essential. Scouts also recommend orchard practices that improve the environment for beneficial organisms. For example, certain grasses have been shown to enhance predatory mite numbers by providing a pollen source on which they feed.

Pest scouts use a 10X hand lens and sampling card as tools of the trade. The results of monitoring are presented to the grower in the form of a report sheet.

Data collected during the season is added to a database. At the end of the season the grower is presented with a graph which shows the relationship between pest and beneficial species and the impact of any treatments for each block.

Read about the experiences of farmers and horticulturalists who currently use IPM.