New service to screen for insecticide resistance in aphids

A new testing service is being offered to growers and advisers to determine the presence of insecticide resistance in green peach aphid (GPA) populations - a pest of various horticultural and grain crops.

The service has been made available through cesar with the support of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) to assist growers in choosing the most effective product for controlling GPA.

Resistance in GPA has escalated as a result of heavy reliance on insecticides. GPA are most common in autumn and seldom cause economic losses to crops through direct feeding. However, they are an important vector of several plant diseases, including beet western yellows virus (BWYV) which caused considerable losses to canola crops in 2014.

To view an interview with Dr Paul Umina from cesar on GPA and beet western yellows virus, go to https://youtu.be/1MlRtsfydkc.

What do we test?

The tests available cover the three main insecticide groups used to control GPA in Australia: pyrethroids (Group 3A), organophosphates (Group 1B) and carbamates (Group 1A). cesar uses genetic assays to ensure accuracy and quick results. Resistance results are typically available 7-10 days after receiving aphid samples.

Due to the nature of the genetic assays being undertaken, the cost for the resistance tests is dependent on the number of individual samples being screened at one time. Assays become more cost-effective as the number of samples increases.

For further information about this new testing service, please feel free to contact us:

Anthony van Rooyen

Phone: (03) 9349 4723

Email: avanrooyen@cesaraustralia.com