Developing sustainable management strategies

This project aims to develop novel behavioural and biological management options for the control of Liriomyza leafminers in Australia and to aid in the detection of exotic leafminers.

a green leaf with white trail lines over it

Management of leafminers

Australia's protected cropping industry, experiencing over 60% annual growth, includes 1341 ha of greenhouse vegetables and 101 ha of cut flowers, totalling a farm gate value of $1.5 billion. Popularly grown crops in such settings are tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicum, lettuce, berries, and cut flowers including lilies, roses, gerberas, carnations, lisianthus and chrysanthemum. These vegetable crops and cut flowers grown in protected systems are susceptible to several pest species including Liriomyza leafminers (Agromyzidae). The recently introduced Liriomyza leafminers are known to possess insecticide resistance necessitating alternative pest management strategies. Protected settings, such as greenhouse, acting as Liriomyza reservoirs, require targeted management for sustainable pest control and improved market access.

The project expects to develop a range of coordinated and complementary management options to transform the way that leafminers are managed and detected including a trap that uses visual cues to attract the insect, investigating the effect of plant volatiles on the attractiveness of plants to the insect, as well as how beneficials exploit the same suite of volatiles, and developing mating disruption techniques that aim to break the reproductive cycle of the pest. The project is expected to focus on protected cropping systems and seedling nurseries, with recommendations to consider potential feasibility to other systems that host serpentine leafminers.

Funding: Horticulture Innovation Australia (BY22001)

Contact: Dr Bishwo Mainali, bishwo.mainali@mq.edu.au