BioResources FSB Project - BLOG
JANUARY 2016 UOPDATE
5 January 2016
Anastatus production and releases
Its been a while since my last blog here. A very busy year. We’ve moved our insectary to a new site where we can expand and we’ve developed a new mass rearing system for Anastatus as well!
Its now more efficient and now have more material available for sale. We have just placed our order for silkworm eggs for next year - a significant increase on this year. The good reports keep coming in and we will step up production in the new year.
We have about 40 growers that have been releasing Anastatus for more than 2 years. Of these 15 have reported very significant drops in FSB damage and another 20 have reported less damage than previously.
A couple of examples:
Henri Bader, a macadamia grower at Knockrow Nthn NSW.
The western end of macs are surrounded by regenerated bush and in a drinking water catchment. Henri has been keen to reduce chemical inputs and soil erosion in this area and has done both.
Its always been an FSB hot spot with usual damage estimated to be over 4% NIS.
From 2012 Henri released 4,000 Anastatus every 3-4 wks during warm months for the last 3 years.
In 2013 damage was considered down on the previous years but this was not directly measured.
In 2014 lower with 1.25% NIS (Ave R1 to R4).
In 2015, average down further to 0.26% NIS (R2 zero damage) - and nut sample was taken from trees - no screening at all for damage prior to assessment.
Henri suspects an increase in yield as a result of low bug activity but such things are very hard to confirm.
Many nuts fed on by bugs will fall off. Its only the more developed ones that will hang on and make it to harvest. So this is likely to impact on yield. The remaining buts may increase in size a little but there is a limit to this capacity.
Guesses are that 3% damage at harvest may equate to 12% yield loss.
Download Anastatus Info for Growers.pdf
Send comments and bug observations to:
Richard Llewellyn
richard@bioresources.com.au
Top left: “Large” Anastatus parasitising “very small” GVB eggs
Above, Mackays papaya showing adjacent rainforest.
More feedback from Mackays.
40 ha Papaya, Tully Nth Qld
Bugs numbers are now extremely low. No spraying in the main crop for 2 years. A little in patches on young crop. This is a huge change from a few years back where bugs were a constant issue requiring spraying and this then led to problems with mites which then had to be sprayed and so on...
Back in 2013 I visited a large pawpaw farm near Tully (see link to previous story) where we had started Anastatus releases. It looked like a good set up for Anastatus releases with bush next to the crop.
Big increase in other predators in the crop - assassin bugs and spiders most obviously. Both feed of bugs. So now after 3 years these predatorys are likely to be adding to the success of control and cleaning up the bugs that get past the Anastatus.
A problem has arisen with this increase in spiders. Some fruit bunches are covered in spider webs. These have to be removed by this pickers. mackays are currently figuring out how to cope with this issue - pickers wear cotton gloves and carry a small brush on their belt...?
No insecticide sprays has resulted in increased spider numbers
Anastatus also parasitises Green Vegetable Bug eggs
We have been establishing a GVB culture with the view of producing GVB parasitoids - Trichopoda and Trissolcus. GVB is a major pest is macadamias, soybeans, corn and tomatoes.
Along the way we discovered by accident that Anastatus will parasitise GVB eggs - they managed to get into our GVB culture.
Anastatus females out of silkworm eggs are a lot bigger that Anastatus out of the smaller FSB eggs. Anastatus out of silkworm eggs will parasitise the even smaller GVB eggs. And out of these small GVB eggs comes a very small Anastatus. If this wasps parasitises another large silkworm egg then a large wasp emerges!!
We have also had word from a grower in North Qld that started releases of Anastatus in Autumn this year. He reports a dramatic decline in GVB in his passionfruit this season and hasn't had to do the typical sprays for them. He still has FSB at this stage.
Trissolcus wasps now available for GVB
GVB parasitoids have been release by government departments over the last 50 years. They can make a major contribution to control of this important pest under the right conditions. They are typically in low numbers coming out of winter and spraying in crops slows their build up further each season.
We believe releases of these parasitoids early in the season will speed up the natural increase and releases again in Autumn will reduce the numbers of overwintering GVB.
Last year we worked on a system for rearing GVB so that we could mass rear its parasitoids. A few months ago, we collected Trissolcus wasps, the major egg parasitoid of GVB, from a vegetable crop at Bundaberg.
So, we are now rearing Trissolcus. We have a long way to go in refining the mass rearing system but are starting to have wasps available for release.
We think these wasps can make a very useful contribution to GVB control in large orchards where GVB is an issue and in low chemical vegetable production and organic farming. Local area releases will enhance their effectiveness.
So, if you are interested, contact us to discuss the suitability of Trissolcus releases to your farm situation.
GVB eggs parasitised by Trissolcus wasps