Pest management in Queensland strawberries: Reality bites, and growers' perspectives change!

Prior to the 1980s, arthropod pest control in Queensland strawberries was based entirely on calendar sprays of insecticides (mainly endosulfan, triclorfon, dimethoate and carbaryl) and a miticide (dicofol). These chemicals were applied frequently and spider mite outbreaks occurred every season. The concept of integrated pest management (IPM) had not been introduced to growers, and the suggestion that an alternative to the standard chemical pest control recipe might be available, was ignored. Circumstances changed when the predatory mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis Athios-Henriot, became available commercially in Australia, providing the opportunity to manage spider mites, the major pests of strawberries, with an effective biological agent. Trials conducted on commercial farms in the early 1980s indicated that a revolution in strawberry pest management was at hand, but the industry generally remained sceptical and afraid to adopt the new strategy. Lessons are learnt from disasters and the consequent monetary loss that ensues, and in 1993, such an event relating to ineffective spider mite control, spawned the revolution we had to have. Farm-oriented research and evolving grower perspectives have resulted in the acceptance of biological control of spider mites using Phytoseiulus persimilis and the 'pest in first' technique, and it now forms the basis of an IPM system that is used on more than 80% of the Queensland strawberry crop.

An evaluation of genetic analyses, skull morphology and visual appearance for assessing dingo purity: implications for dingo conservation

The introgression of domestic dog genes into dingo populations threatens the genetic integrity of 'pure' dingoes. However, dingo conservation efforts are hampered by difficulties in distinguishing between dingoes and hybrids in the field. This study evaluates consistency in the status of hybridisation (i.e. dingo, hybrid or dog) assigned by genetic analyses, skull morphology and visual assessments. Of the 56 south-east Queensland animals sampled, 39 (69.6%) were assigned the same status by all three methods, 10 (17.9%) by genetic and skull methods, four (7.1%) by genetic and visual methods; and two (3.6%) by skull and visual methods. Pair-wise comparisons identified a significant relationship between genetic and skull methods, but not between either of these and visual methods. Results from surveying 13 experienced wild dog managers showed that hybrids were more easily identified by visual characters than were dingoes. A more reliable visual assessment can be developed through determining the relationship between (1) genetics and phenotype by sampling wild dog populations and (2) the expression of visual characteristics from different proportions and breeds of domestic dog genes by breeding trials. Culling obvious hybrids based on visual characteristics, such as sable and patchy coat colours, should slow the process of hybridisation.