The green peach aphid is a major horticultural pest within Australia. It attacks a broad range of plants, including capsicum, eggplants, tomatoes, broccoli and lettuce. Insecticides are the main tool used to control this pest, but the aphid can rapidly acquire insecticide resistance. Within Australia, green peach aphid populations with resistance are increasingly common, posing issues both in the short and long term.

This project was undertaken to better understand resistance in green peach aphid populations across Australia, so that better insecticide resistance management strategies could be devised.

Researchers collected and cultured green peach aphid populations from 25 different locations across Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. They tested the aphids for resistance to four groups of insecticides in the lab.

In addition, the team developed testing methods for newer chemistries available for green peach aphid control. This provided baseline sensitivity data that will allow detection of any changes in resistance.

Since the cornerstone of any insecticide resistance management plan is to use different chemicals on a rotating basis, the team also compared the effectiveness of these newer chemistries.

This project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the research and development levies listed below and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

• Vegetable Fund