Spatial tools to deliver pest suppressive landscapes

By understanding pest control by beneficials in the landscape growers and agronomists can decide when and how insecticide applications can be made strategically to reduce the impact on beneficial insects. New tools are needed to achieve this. We are leveraging knowledge on pest suppressive landscapes to provide spatial tools and metrics for growers to score their farm and paddocks for pest suppression capacity. In turn this can support decisions on pest thresholds, a higher pest suppressive landscape score permits higher thresholds for insecticide intervention. Additionally, these tools will help identify parts of the landscape where semi-natural habitat may boost beneficial populations.   

We are developing digital tools to address four areas:

Spatial Tools for assessing pest suppressive landscapes 

A tool to rapidly identify the capacity of landscape features to host beneficial insect populations at the field and sub-field scale.  

Dynamic systems view on pest suppression seasonality 

Leveraging freely available weather, climate data and earth observation data, we aim to identify changes in vegetation which impact pest populations and natural enemies. 

Spatial impact of chemical intervention 

Cesar Australia has already developed the “Beneficials chemical toxicity table” for assessing the non-target impacts of pesticides on beneficials. We are aiming to develop a feature which maps the impact of insecticides in the landscape on beneficial insects. This will help growers and agronomists assess when and where they may be able to swap broad-spectrum insecticides with narrow-spectrum insecticides leading to greater pest suppression by not impacting natural enemies.

Integration with Existing Farm Data 

Consultation with growers and agronomists have told us that they don’t want “JAFA” (Just another Fone App). We want to integrate these insights with existing farm management systems, consolidating your data from various sources to offer a unified view of field conditions while retaining privacy of your data.  

  

Why is this important for sustainable pest management? 

Successful deployment of the ‘Canola Allies’ platform will lead to long term benefits for growers, such as : 

Reduced Reliance on Chemicals Shifting towards more precise insecticide use strategies minimizes environmental impact and promotes ecosystem services. 

Improved Decision-Making Capabilities The tools with real-time data and predictive insights will enable stakeholders to make informed decisions tailored to their farm. This leads to more efficient resource allocation and optimized pest control efforts. 

Enhanced Sustainability and Environmental Impact Reduction Through the promotion of sustainable pest control methods and reduced chemical use this work aligns with growing global demands for eco-friendly agricultural practices. 

If you are interested to know more and want to get in touch with the digital agroecology team contact Dr Paul Melloy, CSIRO.