Trap cropping is an established technology within many IPM systems for a broad range of

crops. Successful trap crops act as diversionary hosts for key pests, attracting and

concentrating the pests and their eggs into a relatively small area where the population can be controlled. Typically trap crops are 'suicide' crops that are destroyed prior to harvest in order to kill pests trapped within them. Trap cropping programs aim to reduce egg densities on the primary crop(s) on an areawide basis, resulting in an overall reduction in management costs for individual farms.

Interest in establishing areawide trap cropping programs has grown within the Australian cotton industry, following the success of the Central Queensland trap cropping program initiated by Dr Richard Sequelra as part of the INGARD resistance management plan. Results suggested that substantial populations of Helicoverpa could be captured and destroyed by chickpea and pigeon pea trap crops.

This project set outto quantify the effectiveness of trap crops and measure the impact of trap crops on egg densities in surrounding cotton.