sustainability through science & innovation
Agronomist, Phil Stoddart (Landmark), reports that whitefringed weevil (Naupactus leucoloma) has been observed attacking lucerne near Mudgee, in the Central Tablelands of NSW. This weevil is a common pest of lucerne in many districts of southern Australia.
Adult whitefringed weevils are 12mm long with a short and ‘down-pointing’ snout. They are light to dark grey-brown with characteristic white stripes down the sides of their body. There is also a band of white hairs along each side. They cannot fly, and have fused wing covers and only rudimentary wings.
Whitefringed weevil adults usually cause only minor leaf damage. They feed on the outer edges of the leaves, producing characteristic notched or saw-toothed edges. The larvae are legless, fat and slightly curved, growing up to 13mm long. They are white to yellowish with a light-brown head and roughly resemble maggots. These larvae severely damage the root system; the productive life of lucerne stands can be greatly reduced.
Because the adults cannot fly, the weevils do not move long distances and damage is often concentrated in one area. The whitefringed weevil spreads between paddocks and farms mainly through the movement of soil containing eggs or adults (eg. on machinery).
Most damage to pastures and crops occurs in autumn-winter. Damage is often worse when two susceptible crops are grown in sequence. The whitefringed weevil will also attack and cause considerable damage to sub-surface drip irrigation systems. The recommendation for control of this pest is to rotate out of lucerne and other broadleaf crops; sow the infested areas with non-preferred hosts, such as cereals or pure grass pastures.
What is PestFacts?
PestFacts south-eastern keeps growers and advisers informed about invertebrate pests and beneficials in broadacre crops and pastures during the winter-cropping season in Victoria and southern New South Wales.
PestFacts south-eastern is run through IPMforGrains: Best Practice Insect Pest Management, a project delivered by the National Pest Information Network (cesar, DPIRD, QDAF, NSW DPI, and SARDI). This project aims to provide grain growers and advisors with information on invertebrate grain pest occurrence and equip industry with the knowledge needed to implement integrated pest management practices. This initiative is a GRDC investment and includes in-kind contributions from all project partner organisations.
We need your reports
PestFacts is produced on an ʻas-needsʼ basis and relies upon pest observations and field reports from our subscribers. If you have recently observed invertebrate pests (or beneficial species) in broadacre crops, please contact us to report your observations.
Agricultural invertebrate identification
If you are a grower or agronomist in Victoria or NSW working with broadacre crops or pastures, we can assist you with identifying invertebrates found on farms at no cost. Please contact us for identification help.
PestFacts map
PestFacts map is an interactive tool that allows users to search and view historical pest reports across Victoria and NSW. The map is updated with each issue of PestFacts to include new reports.
How to acknowledge PestFacts?
With appropriate acknowledgement, cesar grants permission to reproduce information taken directly from PestFacts. To cite PestFacts: “PestFacts south-eastern (<<enter date published>>). cesar pty ltd.”
Contact us
0484 310 697
|
PestFacts Reporter app: |
||
 |
 |
|
PestFacts is supported by
