Investment

This project aims to provide Western Australian canola growers and advisers with earlier warning about potential diamondback moth (DBM) outbreaks, so they can be pro-active in managing this insect pest. The evolution of resistance to insecticides in DBM means growers have limited insecticide options. Surveys will be undertaken to provide more information about how plants, such as species from the Brassica family, are harbouring DBM in Summer and Winter, where in the landscape these host plants are occurring, and how DBM subsequently move through the grain belt and re-colonise canola crops.

Ultimately, this information will help improve the forecasting of seasonal risk of DBM outbreaks and help the industry manage insecticide resistance. Information could also be used to produce a forecasting system for DBM, similar to those already developed for crop diseases such as blackleg disease in canola and black spot disease in field pea.