False wireworms and cotton: pest damage and efficacy of insecticides

Abstract

There are several arthropod species that can negatively impact crop establishment and seedling vigour. Many of the current insecticides applied to control these pests are unlikely to be available in the future. Due to concerns over the impact these insecticides have on human health and the environment, many are under or scheduled for regulatory review by the APVMA. Therefore, the immediate challenge is to find suitable replacements to ensure cotton growers are not adversely impacted by these pest species and have safe insecticides to use. A significant challenge is to understand the biology of these insects and identify opportunities to adopt IPM tactics that may reduce the industries reliance on insecticides. Currently we are learning to mass rear some of these insects in the laboratory, study their biology and develop bioassays to evaluate the efficacy of insecticides. This presentation will briefly describe the life cycle of establishment pests and highlight recent research completed by the DPI Entomology team.