Which insect pests could pose a threat to pulse crops in the southern region this growing season and what can growers do to minimise the risk of damage?
Those questions and more will be dissected and discussed next week during a webinar – the first in a new series of Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) in-season webinars designed specifically for growers of pulse crops and advisers.
The webinar, being conducted through the GRDC’s Southern Region Pulse Extension Project investment, will be on Wednesday, June 12, at 2pm AEST.
Leading the presentation on insect pests will be cesar director and entomologist Paul Umina who will provide an overview of the key in-season pulse crop pests to be aware of, as well as their biology, potential impact and management tactics.
Southern Region Pulse Extension Project manager, Pru Cook, says the in-season webinar series has been instigated following a positive response by growers, advisers and other industry personnel to the inaugural pre-seeding pulse crop webinars in March.
“The five webinars in March, each covering a different pulse crop type, featured a line-up of industry experts who provided an overview of relevant agronomic information, pulse research findings and current market information ahead of the 2019 cropping season,” Ms Cook said.
“Each of those webinars allowed participants to interact with industry experts without the burden and expense of travel and time away from their businesses, cost effectively building their skills and better preparing them for the upcoming growing season.
“The webinar concept was well received and there were requests for more on other pulse-related topics throughout the growing season. We have responded by offering another series of webinars – this time each session will provide an in-depth look at a particular pulse-related topic.”
Other topics to be covered over the coming months include diseases, frost, late-season weed control, harvester fires and pulse storage.
The 30-minute webinar next week will include a question and answer session. It will be recorded and housed on the GRDC YouTube channel.
To participate in the webinar, growers and advisers are encouraged to register
The GRDC Southern Region Pulse Extension Project, titled ‘Building capacity, skills and knowledge for the pulse industry in the southern region: supporting expansion of high value pulses into new areas and ensuring sustained profitability of all key pulse crops’,began in 2017.
Delivered by a consortium of organisations involved in the pulse industry across the GRDC’s southern region, the initiative aims to increase the knowledge of growers and advisers on sustainable pulse production, leading to improved farming systems and grower profitability.
