New $24.8 million GRDC project aims to revolutionise pest management for grain, vegetable growers

Reducing reliance on broad-spectrum insecticides, implementing innovative strategies to manage pest populations and promoting beneficial insects are all part of a new $24.79 million project aiming to revolutionise pest management for grain and vegetable growers. The Grains Research and Development Corporation is investing $10 million in the five-year-project alongside contributions from Hort Innovation ($5.59 million), the University of Melbourne ($5.75 million), and Cesar Australia ($2.25 million). Dubbed the Australian Grains and Horticulture Pest Innovation Program, it is part of a nationwide move to bolster knowledge and awareness of pest management with practical, science-backed solutions, and support on-farm practice change for grains and vegetable growers. GRDC managing director Nigel Hart said the goal was to transform Australian pest-management strategies by reducing reliance on broad-spectrum insecticides and promoting sustainable, economically viable, and environmentally sound pest-management practices. “It is challenging to put an overall total cost on the impact of invertebrate pests on the grains industry alone, but across the six major Australian grain crops, the estimated annual loss exceeds $350 million,” he said. “Cultural and chemical controls play a critical role in ensuring growers can effectively manage pests, but as an industry we are currently heavily reliant on insecticides. “By integrating beneficial insects and innovative pest-control technologies, the project will enhance the overall health and productivity of grain and vegetable crops, contributing to long-term industry resilience and sustainability.” Mr Hart said the commitment by Hort Innovation reflected the importance of the project across the agricultural landscape. “This cross-RDC investment is crucial for the horticultural and grains industries, driving innovation and sustainability in pest management,” he said. Hort Innovation chief executive Brett Fifield said the partnership would support the vegetable industry transition to a more proactive and sustainable approach to integrated pest management. “Our vegetable growers tell us that strengthening the industry’s readiness for existing and emerging opportunities and threats in relation to pest management is a key priority,” Mr Fifield said. “Joining forces with GRDC to find solutions to our shared challenges is an effective way to equip vegetable and grain growers with the right tools and practices to manage pests and safeguard their production of quality crops.” The new project builds on a previous GRDC investment partnership with the University of Melbourne and Cesar Australia, which resulted in significant advances in pest research and innovation. GRDC pest manager Leigh Nelson said the project aimed to deliver a comprehensive suite of innovative tools and practices to growers and their advisers by 2029. “We understand the pressure grains and vegetable growers are under to future-proof their sectors as we move towards reduced reliance on broad-spectrum insecticides,” Dr Nelson said. “Through this investment we aim to deliver endosymbiont-based pest control, precision resistance management, beneficial insect adoption strategies and overall enhanced pest-management effectiveness, reduced economic impact and increased sustainability in production.” Dr Nelson said Cesar Australia’s involvement was critical to the success of the project as their expertise in pest management, coupled with strong connections to growers and industry, ensured that innovative research would be effectively translated into practical, on-farm solutions for growers. Cesar Australia director Andrew Weeks was also confident ongoing research into this critical area would reap rewards for the plant industries. “This new project is a bold attempt to reduce production risks caused by invertebrates and their associated viruses and aims to help Australian growers by minimising the uncertainty around pest management,” Dr Weeks said. University of Melbourne researcher and project lead Professor Ary Hoffmann said the initiative comprised a mix of projects offering both short-term and long-term benefits to grain growers. “In the short term, we are developing new molecular tools for rapidly assessing and predicting pesticide resistance, and new approaches to reduce the impacts of pesticides on biocontrol agents,” Professor Hoffmann said. “While in the longer term, we are developing endosymbiotic bacteria as new targets for pest control and new tools to improve the efficacy of natural enemies.”