Integrated Pest Management (IPM) comes to KI
Understanding agricultural pests, beneficial insects and spiders, reducing your reliance on pesticides for better pest control and developing an IPM strategy for your farm are some of the techniques you will learn from the ‘Getting the balance right’ interactive workshop.
Natural Resources Kangaroo Island (NRKI) sustainable production program manager Grant Flanagan said that the workshop would help farmers better understand the three methods of pest control (biological, cultural, chemical) and how best to integrate their use to prevent problems from occurring and to reduce control costs.
“IPM is perhaps best known and most widely applied in the horticulture industry and has recently been successfully applied in broad acre cropping and grazing situations,” he said.
Farmers will learn how to monitor IPM, understand insecticide resistance and the effects that pesticides have on beneficial bugs, and when to decide if chemical use is needed and which are the most suitable.”
Kangaroo Island farmer Peter Cooper said he was now using an IPM program in his seed potato crop.
“It's not necessarily about spraying less, it's about spraying the right product at the right time and protecting the beneficial insects that work for you, as well as using the insecticides.”
The workshop will be held on 16 June in Kingscote. RSVP to Grant Flanagan On 8553 4444 or at grant.flanagan@sa.gov.au. Spaces are limited.
For more information, visit http://www.landscape.sa.gov.au/ki/get-involved/events.
