The team of Queensland scientists that recently won the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) "Seed of Light" award for research communications is to continue its promotion of integrated pest management
(IPM) to northern region graingrowers.

Queensland's Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (QDPI&F) and the GRDC have agreed on a new three year project "Facilitating adoption of IPM in northern region broadacre farming systems".

The project will build on the success of earlier, GRDC supported work by QDPI&F that identified a range of tactics for management of insect pests in winter cereals, summer grains and pulses on the Darling Downs.

However, according to QDPI&F specialist entomologist and team leader David Murray, grower take-up of the technology ­ economic thresholds for spray programs, sampling techniques and use of biopesticides to replace "hard" chemicals ­ could be better.

"We've certainly made progress with IPM, but would like to make more impact," Dr Murray says.

"From the crop management point of view, the easy road is still the chemical option, Œhard', broad spectrum insecticides that, in the past, decimated populations of predators and other beneficial insects.

"But I think we've succeeded in persuading many growers to look for softer options before they resort to hard chemicals. And we have seen widespread acceptance of NPV ­ nucleopolyhedrovirus ­ which has delivered very good control of heliothis in sorghum.

"Growers also have access to new, more selective chemicals ­ Steward was the first to obtain registration and others will follow soon ­ which change the situation dramatically, providing options that are cost competitive and still allow many of the natural pest enemies to continue their good work.

"At the same time we are struggling to offer selective options for mirids and pod sucking bugs in crops like mung beans, while army worms are an ongoing problem in winter cereals. The products that control these pests will also kill the predators."

Dr Murray says the new project will draw heavily on associated research being done by Hugh Brier, from QDPI&F Kingaroy, who is working on another GRDC supported project to integrate IPM for major insect pests of pulses, soybeans and peanuts.

His team is also interested in the outcomes of research in cotton, which used to be regarded as a nursery for heliothis that could then move across into grain crops.

The wide and successful adoption of transgenic Bt varieties of cotton could have a significant impact on heliothis numbers, possibly sufficient to see heliothis ­ H. armigera in particular ­ decline in importance.

That would improve overall prospects for IPM in northern farming systems.