Apps, traps and LAMPs help protect Western Australia's grain crops

Grain crop protection for the 2018 season has been enhanced with the introduction of new high-tech tools and automated surveillance devices to accurately detect and diagnose several pests and diseases.

The decision making aids, developed by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, will be profiled at the forthcoming 2018 GRDC Grains Research Updates.

Department development officer Dusty Severtson said the new CropScout app, automated moth traps and a rapid diagnosis tool for Turnip yellows virus in green peach aphids would help growers to tailor their crop protection regimes.
“Crop protection has become very challenging for growers, monitoring increasingly large properties, outlaying high costs for some insecticides and managing the risk of chemical resistance,” Dr Severtson said.

“These tools will provide better field intelligence to assist growers to take action to control pests and diseases when and where it’s needed.”

The free CropScout app, released last year, which applies spray thresholds for cabbage and turnip aphids in canola, is being expanded to include cereal aphids and will be operating by spring.

The app has been well received, with more than 300 downloads since August last year.

Trials of up to 20 automated moth traps to detect diamondback moth and native budworm will continue this year, with the data included in the department’s PestFax e-publication.

Development officer Christiaan Valentine said the traps would enhance the department’s manual trapping network, providing growers with more detailed, real-time information.

“The commercial Z-Trap and Trapview devices all performed well in 2017 and we intend to test two department prototypes in the field this year,” Mr Valentine said.

“These automated devices will improve monitoring and provide an early warning system to growers, alerting them to when the moths commence migration flights from the pastoral region to the agricultural region.”

Work will also continue on an automated imaging system that takes real-time images of sclerote (fungal disease survival structures) germination, to support the development of an accurate prediction system for sclerotinia severity in canola crops.

“The data from 11 monitoring sites across the Grainbelt involved in the research will also be included in PestFax to assist growers to make informed, timely risk management decisions to reduce the impact of these pests and diseases,” Mr Valentine said.

Research is also coming to fruition on an infield, molecular diagnostic tool to detect the aphid-transmitted Turnip yellows virus (previously referred to as Beet western yellows virus) in the canola pest, green peach aphid.

“To date, diagnosis of the virus has often been after symptoms appear in the crop, with reliance on time consuming and expensive protocols, and made when control options are reactive,” department plant virologist Dr Ben Congdon said.
 
“Using Loop-mediated isothermal AMPlification (LAMP) technology and insect trapping, we can detect virus much earlier and faster in infective aphids, enabling growers to employ control strategies at sowing and/or spray insecticide at the critical time to prevent the virus from spreading widely.”

Dr Severtson encouraged growers to explore the department’s new tools and subscribe to PestFax to ensure they were equipped for the start of the grain growing season.

“These tools are all about managing risk and using creative field information to drive decision making,” he said.

“Rapid and accurate monitoring and surveillance is imperative, both at a paddock and a regional scale, to enable growers to play their part in protecting both their crops and the industry from the impact and cost of pests and diseases.”

The CropScout app can be downloaded to Android or iOS devices. For more information visit agric.wa.gov.au/apps/cropscout

To subscribe to the free PestFax weekly e-newsletter or find out more about the PestFax suite of apps, visit the department’s website.