Investment

Recently, field populations of bluegreen aphids (BGA - Acyrthosiphon kondoi) have been found with resistance to the insecticides omethoate, chlorpyrifos and pirimicarb. This is the first detection of insecticide resistance in BGA in the world. The BGA populations originated from lucerne crops in NSW and SA following reports from growers that currently registered insecticides were no longer providing effective control. BGA is common and widespread in Australia, primarily attacking lucerne, lupins, vetch, chickpeas, faba beans, medics and clovers. They feed directly on the foliage, damaging the plant and spreading harmful viruses through infected crops, including cucumber mosaic virus and bean yellow mosaic virus. Within Australia, this aphid has historically been regarded as a minor pest in lucerne crops; however since the emergence of insecticide resistance, it is now seen as a major threat by many leading agronomists working in the lucerne seed industry. It remains unclear if BGA will similarly become a larger pest issue in pulse crops into the future. The emergence of insecticide resistance in BGA means extra consideration will need to be given to how this pest is managed. This investment sits alongside an AgriFutures investment that aims to improve the long-term management of BGA and mitigate the risk of further resistance evolution in this species in lucerne. The preliminary work in grains will provide to better understanding of the risk of BGA resistance to the grains industry, provide some limited recommendations to pulse growers, and determine whether this issue warrants more research. The research includes the following components: