top of page
IMG_1006_edited.jpg

DIAMOND BACK

MOTH SURVEY

SURVEY OF THE SUMMER/AUTUMN BRASSICA REFUGES FOR DIAMOND BACK MOTH IN THE WESTERN REGION TO PREDICT EARLY SEASON RISK OF INFESTATION

Commencement date

March 2020

​

Completion date

December 2022

​

Aim

To assess the role of Brassica green bridge on DBM presence and impact on winter/spring population.           

​

Funding Provider

GRDC

​

Project lead organisation

Liebe Group

​

Collaborators

DPIRD, other grower groups

​

Project background

Diamondback moth has unpredictable population dynamics with its timing and distribution difficult to determine. DBM has the ability to reproduce very fast (i.e. life cycle of about 2 weeks in warm spring temperatures), hence demonstrating explosive outbreak potential as has been seen in WA in some years. In order to improve timely and effective decision support for growers to manage DBM in canola crops, surveillance is being conducted throughout the five WA port zones to determine the Brassica hosts which may be present during summer and autumn and assess whether these hosts are providing a DBM reservoir bridging between growing seasons.

​

As part of a GRDC-funded project, staff from DPIRD, the Liebe Group, Mingenew Irwin Group and West Midlands Group found and identified DBM larvae in the March green bridge plants, including wild Brassicas (e.g. wild radish) and volunteer canola. Pheromone moth traps were then set up at sites where we found Brassica plants and moths and caterpillars monitored until late October to get a better idea of their spatial distribution.

​

This project is continuing with the same activities for the 2022 season.

​

Results and Reports

Diamondback Moths and Caterpillars 2021

Tactics to Manage Diamondback Moth

GRDC Logo 2016 no background.png
LIEBE LOGO NO BACKGROUND.png
bottom of page