Effect of cropping rotations on pest control

摘要

A new trial has looked at the impact of cropping rotations, including break crops, on removing harmful pests from paddocks, while promoting beneficial bugs as a way of reducing reliance on chemicals. There are many new challenges arising in broadacrecropping for the control of mite pests. Redlegged earth mites (Halotydeus destructor) have developed resistance to commonly used synthetic pyrethroids and are proving difficult to control in field on bare ground prior to seedling emergence. By contrast,blue oat mites (Penthaleus spp.), which resemble redlegged earth mites and have the same distribution, are readily controlled by commonly used synthetic pyrethroids with no evidence of resistance to date. Together these mites are referred to as earth mites.