A multi target approach to fruitspotting bug management Dr. Ruth Huwer and Craig Maddox , NSW DPI

A multi target approach to fruitspotting bug management

Fruitspotting bugs – Amblypelta spp. are the most significant pest problem for Australian horticulture after fruit fly

This project is a multi industry effort

It took a long time to pull industries together to support a major collaborative and multi targeted research project.

Fruitspotting bugs (FSB) Amblypelta spp. Amblypelta spp.

– Belong to the family Coreidae (squash bugs)

There are a number of closely related bug species

– Amblypelta spp. (15) (Australia, PNG, New Hebrides, Solomon Is.)

– Dasynus piperis (Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia)

– Dasynus coccocintus (Taiwan, Philippines)

– Paradasynus rostratus (India)

– Paradasynus spinosus (Japan)

– Pseudotheraptus wayi (East Africa including Kenya,Tanzania, Zanzibar, South Africa)

– Pseudotheraptus devestans (Africa)

Pseudotheraptus wayi Amblypelta nitida Paradasynus spinosus Dasynus sp.

Amblypelta nitida and A. l. lutescens

Wide host range

Major pest in subtropical and tropical horticulture in Australia

Lifecycle from egg to adult about 6 weeks

Adults are long lived

Amblypelta nitida Amblypelta lutescens

FSB feeding habits and damage

Amblypelta nitida feeds exclusively on fruit while A.

lutescens is also a shoot feeder

Feeding by FSB nymphs and adults

Feeding sites are entry points for pathogens

Low bug density can cause major damage

L= tip of labium SH = stylet sheath P = phloem sieve tube From Miles & Taylor, 1994

Losses

Overall losses difficult to quantify

– Crop losses of more than 50% have been

attributed to FSB,

– Estimated to be in the order of tens of millions A

$$$ annually.

The Australian Macadamia Industry reports

the economic impact of FSB is estimated at

$8.9 million per annum,

Project components Collation of past research

Chemical control options

Development of monitoring and trap cropping

– Trap crops

– Pheromones

Biological control options

IPM case studies

Area Wide Management (AWM)

Industry Adoption

Collation of past research

Responsibility: Alana Danne (PhD student (University of Queensland)

Collation of past research and management practices of FSB and relatives

Chemical control

Responsibility: Ruth Huwer and Craig Maddox (NSW DPI)

New compounds from chemical industry

Biopesticides need to be considered

Monitoring and trap cropping 1. Trap cropping

Responsibility: Ruth Huwer and Craig Maddox (NSW DPI)

Monitoring FSB has been a challenge

FSB are known to show host preference

Developing a new monitoring strategy by using trap crops

Monitoring in flower hedge at CTH

Date

Murraya paniculata hedges Floral sequence hedge

Arboretum Highway Avocado Macadamia cv L64 Guava Longan Murraya

Jul 2011 44 32 0 0 0 0 6

Aug 2011 35 60 0 1 0 0 3

Sep 2011 14 60 0 0 0 0 10

Oct 2011 20 34 2 1 0 0 4

Nov 2011 19 40 5 7 0 0 5

Dec 2011 21 3 0 4 0 0 0

Jan 2012 0 0 0 2 0 3 0

Feb 2012 2 1 0 0 1 3 1

Mar 2012 42 2 0 0 1 2 2

Apr 2012 88 27 0 2 0 0 8

May 2012 30 40 0 0 0 0 6

Jun 2012 40 34 0 1 0 0 2

FSB

preference

for

Macadamia

ternifolia

Nov 2010

before 1st spray Dec 2010 before 1st spray

Jan 2011 after 1st spray

Feb 2011

after 2nd spray

Evidence Spatial distribution of FSB in Germplasm block in 2010 over

time (Total 618 trees)

Evidence (cont.) Incidence of FSB in Germplasm block in 2010

Maca-

damia

species

Macadamia

tetraphylla (n=188)

Macadamia

integrifolia (n=162)

Macadamia ternifolia

(n=30)

Mixed hybrid

(uncertain) (n=266)

Trees

with

FSB

Total

FSB

% of

FSB

Trees

with

FSB

Total

FSB

% of

FSB

Trees

with

FSB

Total

FSB

% of

FSB

Trees

with

FSB

Total

FSB

% of

FSB

17/08/

2010 1 1 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

23/11/

2010 5 5 22 0 0 0 8 16 70 1 2 9

9/12/

2010 8 11 14 1 2 2 12 50 62 12 18 22

7/01/*

2011 2 2 8 0 0 0 5 22 88 1 1 4

24/02/*

2011 3 3 7 3 1 2 5 32 78 3 2 5

3/03/

2011 1 2 6 2 9 25 6 22 63 2 2 6

*Reinfestation 3 weeks after beta-cyfluthrin spray

Evidence (cont.) FSB damage in germplasm block 2010/2011

Macadamia

species

Trees

Sampled

Nuts

Examined

%FSB

damage

Ave (sd)

Total KR

Ave (sd)

M. tetraphylla 43 1311 11 (15) 32 (5.1)

M. integrifolia 54 1920 6.5 (8.9) 25 (4.3)

M. ternifolia 26 775 34 (21) 40 (8.2)

Mixed hybrid 13 391 4.2 (5.8) 30 (2.8)

Monitoring and trap cropping (cont.) 2. Pheromone traps

Responsibility: Harry Fay, (DAFFQ)

Pheromone compounds for Amblypelta spp. have been identified and now need to be fine tuned and tested.

The following 4 aspects need to be considered in this study:

– Adjustment of pheromone compounds

– Field evaluation of pheromones for both Amblypelta spp.

– Design optimal trapping device

– Evaluate trapping device for both

Amblypelta spp. in the field in QLD and NSW

Biological control (cont.)

1. Mass-rearing for FSB and Anastatus

and release strategies Responsibility: Richard Llewellyn (BioResources)

Mass-rearing of fruitspotting bugs for testing and rearing of biological control agents

Mass-rearing of biological control agents

Release strategies

Evaluation of biological control agents in QLD and NSW.

Photos: Richard Llewellyn

Biological control

2. Ecology and initial evaluation of

various biological control agents Responsibility: Ruth Huwer and Craig Maddox (NSW DPI)

Searching for biological control agents in

QLD and NSW

Ecology of biological control agents if

unknown (including live-cycle, investigation

of flora of their environment).

Evaluation of biological control agents in

QLD and NSW

PhD project Alana Danne will cover

aspects of biological control including

impact of cover crops

Trichopoda giacomellii

Gryon sp.

Anastatus sp.

Centrodora darwini

Biological control - Ecology

Screening of a number of insecticides on Gryon sp.

and Anastatus sp.

Screening Gryon sp. for cold storage

Screening Gryon sp. in insecticides field trial on

commercial farm at Alstonville

Quantifying impact of biological control agent is

difficult

IPM case studies Responsibility: Pest consultants and Jeremy Bright (NSW DPI)

Case studies on commercial farms will be established at a later stage of the project (possibly for year 3)

Area Wide Management (AWM)

Responsibility: Consultants

The new developed control strategies will be integrated and tested at farm level and regionally via an Area Wide Management (AWM) approach (possibly year 4).

Industry Adoption Responsibility Mark Hickey (NSW DPI)

Adoption strategy and extension plan

A communication plan has been developed

Team includes DAFFQ and NSW DPI experts

Conclusion

The ecology of FSB is fairly complex

A good understanding of FSB ecology is needed to achieve sustainable control

– A number of tools need to be combined to maximise success of control and adoption

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank

– all the funding industries

– all project members for their efforts

– all collaborators who have been helping us out with on farm field sites

The project has been funded by R&D levies from the Avocado, Macadamia, Lychee, Papaya, Passionfruit and Custard Apple industries, with additional funding via the Across Industry Committee and matched by the Australian Government through HAL. NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) and Queensland Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (QDAFF) are also contributing in-kind funds to the project, and NSW DPI is managing the project on behalf of all partners. Other project partners include the University of Queensland, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and BioResources.