Prior to teh commencement of the 2016/17 cotton season, it was predicted that early season pest numbers would be extreme and widespread due to good winter and spring rainfall in all areas.

This forecast was particularly alarming due to the potential for widespread insecticide applications which can have very serious consequences such as resistance, the disruption of natural pest enemies, secondary pest outbreaks, and damage to the environment.

Taking these potential threats into consideration, the CottonInfo team determined that the industry needed confidence to approach pest management using sustainable pest control measures encouraged via integrated pest management (IPM). The team also agreed that extending the IPM message early in the season will be a priority.

As a result, CottonInfo and CRDC partnered with leading industry experts, including Dr Lewis Wilson and Dr Michael Bange of CSIRO, to deliver a series of workshops on IPM across five cotton growing valleys – encouraging growers to consider their potential pest management strategies.

Over 130 participants from the cotton industry attended the IPM workshops. 38 [er cent of these participants filled in evaluation forms. Results from these forms showed that 32 per cent of respondees were growers, 40 per cent were consultants and crop scouts and 28 per cent were from another sector of the industry, for example research staff and reseller agronomists. The five workshops took place at Warren, Darlington Point, Cecil Plains, Boggabilla and Boggabri during late November 2016 and early December 2016.