Orchard pest management

March 2017 | Presented by David Williams, Agriculture Victoria | Future Orchards® Northern Loop farm walks

This Future Orchards® Northern Loop presentation by David Williams provides growers with an integrated view of orchard pest management. Rather than focusing only on individual pesticide applications, the resource considers monitoring, pest biology, beneficial organisms and the timing of control measures.

The presentation reflects the direction of Australian apple and pear IPM programs: identify the pest correctly, understand when damaging stages are present, use monitoring to determine whether intervention is required, and choose tactics that minimise disruption to useful predators and parasitoids where practical.

For growers reviewing their seasonal pest program, the resource is a useful reminder that effective control is built from a sequence of informed decisions. The goal is reliable protection of fruit and trees while reducing avoidable pesticide use and preserving control options for the future.

For library users, this resource is most useful as a record of the technical thinking and field evidence available at the time. Product registrations, resistance advice and regional pest pressure can change, so any present-day control decision should be checked against current labels and local recommendations while retaining the monitoring and decision-making principles described here.