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Cultural control
The use of different management techniques can reduce the impact some insects have on pasture production.
Endophyte – help plants defend themselves
Endophytes have been developed to reduce the potential impact insects have on pasture plants. There are a number of factors to consider when determining the correct endophyte for your situation.
Endophytes take at least 6-8 weeks to fully establish in newly-sown seedlings, so it is important to use other control options to prevent damage to grasses during early establishment. Once grasses are well established with multiple tillers, then you can rely on protection from the endophyte.
Strategic chemical intervention
Use of insecticides in the spray-out and seed treatment are valuable steps in reducing the potential of insect damage. Following drilling, monitor paddocks closely because insects can migrate from surrounding areas to newly-sown areas and cause damage.
Seed treatment is very effective with moderate insect levels, however in high insect populations there is still a risk of some pasture damage because insects have to feed on the crop to ingest the chemical. This means with high insect numbers there will still be enough ‘bites’ to cause damage. In high insect areas, the use of further chemical control may be required.
Insect: |
Cultural control: |
Endophyte options: |
Chemical control: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slugs | Cultivation and rolling | None known | |
| Grass grub | Cultivation Mob stocking Heavy rolling with ground roller |
Explore Treated Seeds | |
| Porina | Cultivation |
AR37 Standard endophyte |
|
| Argentine stem weevil | Regrass with effective endophyte |
Standard endophyte |
|
| Black beetle | Cultivation Crop rotation |
AR37 (adult only) NEA2 (adult only) Standard endophyte (adult only) |
Explore Treated Seeds |
