IPM workshops
Our IPM workshops run for 3-4 hours and cover the main aspects of IPM. We begin with a one hour presentation, followed by hands-on training in identification of pest and beneficial insects and an interactive session to develop IPM strategies for any crops nominated by the group.
These workshops are informal and interactive and aimed at farmers and advisors.
Presentation topics
Each presentation is tailored to the interests of the group, using examples from releveant crops. The topics covered include:
- Pest control methods – biological, cultural and chemical – and how to integrate all three
- Pest/beneficial ecology
- Pest flare
- Insecticide resistance
- Effects of pesticides on beneficials
- Sources of beneficial insects and mites
- Monitoring pests and beneficials
- IPM decision making
Hands-on activities
Meet key pests and beneficials
All our workshops include a hands-on training element using live or preserved samples of insects and mites. We teach participants how to use a handlens and how to monitor and identify relevant pest and beneficial species at various lifecycle stages.
In addition to these activities, our workshops can include an in-field training session with a demonstration of monitoring techniques and IPM decision-making.
What participants take away
Ready-to-implement IPM strategies
During the final session of the workshop we ask participants to nominate crops in which they would like to trial IPM. We then work with participants to develop a simple IPM strategy, summarised on a single page, for each crop.
The IPM strategy for each crop summarises:
- all the pests that need to be managed in the crop
- key beneficials – the natural enemies (predators and parasites) of the pests
- cultural control options – management strategies to discourage pests and encourage beneficials
- compatible chemical control options – chemicals that cause minimal harm to key beneficials and can therefore be used as a support tool when biological and cultural control is not enough
Our strategies clearly demonstrate how to successfully integrate biological, cultural and chemical control options to achieve better pest control with reduced reliance on insecticides.
Number of participants
Each workshop is presented by two experienced entomologists and we limit the number of workshop participants to 16.
This ratio allows us to offer adequate attention to the training needs of each individual participant, particularly during the hands-on insect and mite identification session.
Price
$1,500 plus GST and travel