A change of direction for entomoLOGIC and some improvements to hydroLOGIC will provide growers and consultants in the 1992/93 season with effective, low cost decision support systems for irrigation and pest management. These improvements have been brought about by feedback received from growers and consultants who have used the packages in recent seasons.

The reliance of the Australian cotton industry on insecticides for the control of insect pests represents a major economic and environmental concern. In the face of pesticide resistance in H. armigera and increasing environmental problems associated with pesticide use, the development of cotton varieties with enhanced resistance to pests, particularly Heliothis and mites, is a major objective of CSIRO to help lessen dependence of the industry on chemical pesticides. Both conventional breeding and genetic engineering are being used to produce pest resistant cottons. Here we discuss work to compare the levels of pest resistance in a variety of cotton cultivars which bear either morphological, or biochemical factors for resistance and to identify characteristics which may be valuable for incorporation in the highly successful breeding program at Narrabri

In the 1991/92 season we started observations in both sprayed and unsprayed plots of different cotton varieties to record the numbers of fruit lost during the season and to identify the causes of shedding. The first years results are presented here.

The importance of Heliothis has grown with the advent of resistance in H.armigera to various pesticides. This, coupled with increasing public concern about the use of pesticides, has meant that the cotton industry needs to find alternative forms of control. One of the potential alternatives is mating disruption. This is achieved by releasing into the atmosphere sufficient amounts of pheromone to disrupt communication between the sexes, preventing mating and subsequent egg laying.

There are, few parasitoids which specifically attack the pupal stage. This is perhaps understandable since pupae are not readily accessible, being in the soil. For the last few seasons we have been conducting a study of the biology, behavior and field ecology of a true pupal parasitoid of Helicoverpa, the ichneumonid wasp, Ichneumon promissorius. The aim was to assess the impact of the wasp on pupal populations of Helicoverpa spp. and to assess the possibilities for mass rearing it as a biocontrol agent, particularly for management of overwintering pupae in cotton areas. Here we give a brief account of the biology of I. promissorius and provide a summary of the abundance of various parasitoids in Helicoverpa pupae collected in the Namoi/Gwydir area over the period 1987-1991.

This paper presents techniques used for rearing egg parasitoids on AGM eggs in an experimental facility at the QDPI Division of Plant Protection entomology laboratories in Toowoomba. These techniques have been adopted by commercial interests so that egg parasitoids can be reared in sufficient numbers for use by farmers for pest management in the future.

Recent research has indicated that two species of native egg parasitoids, Trichogramma (Trichogrammanza) carverae Oatman and Pinto and Trichogrammatoidea bactrae Nagaraja, have potential as biological control agents of heliothis (Scholz, 1990). This paper presents data on the foraging movements of T. carverae after release at a single point against heliothis in dryland cotton on the Darling Downs.

During the 1991-92 season, a 1 ha block of unsprayed raingrown cotton near Dalby was sampled for parasite activity in heliothis larvae. As the parasites of interest mainly attack small larvae (see Murray and Rynne 1992), parasitism levels were determined by weekly collections of third and fourth instars. A single release of about 200 female Microplitis demolitor Wilkinson was made on 17 January 1992 to supplement natural parasite activity. In this paper we present data on larval parasitism and discuss possible interactions between parasites and a recently discovered pathogen

Changes in Helicoverpa populations in non cropping areas