National Wine and Grape Industry Centre
Australian Plague Locust in Vineyards
Strategy for early season (hopper) control of Australian plague locust in vineyards
Locust will soon be emerging in many areas of New South Wales. In past locust plagues, grape growers have generally only had to deal with adult locusts flying in from breeding grounds but this year, many vineyards are those breeding grounds.
As viticulture covers over 40,000 hectares of land in NSW , it is very important for vineyard operators to play their part in helping to mitigate the impact of Australian Plague Locust for all landholders.
Grape growers can expect to see hoppers (young locusts) emerge from roadsides, tracks and other areas of bare or hard ground where adult locusts laid eggs last autumn.
As hoppers are mostly at ground level, control can be achieved by directly spraying the hoppers on the ground (inter row, fence lines, tracks) rather than spraying the vines.
Under the Rural Lands Protection Act 1998, all landholders are required to report the presence of plague locusts on their land to their local Livestock Health and Pest Authority (LHPA).
Your local LHPA can distribute chemical free of charge to eligible landholders. It is important to note that chemical is only provided where landholders have confirmed locust’s activity on their property. This is to ensure the most effective use of available chemical.
Strategy for early season (hopper) control of Australian plague locust in vineyards
Like many industries, the wine industry has been developing strategies to help growers control locusts during this coming season and avoid chemical residue issues in produce that will be harvested later in the season. Operators need to be aware, to prevent residue issues for export wine it is extremely important that no insecticide is sprayed on the vine foliage or grapes.
For vineyards operators in NSW, they can use several registered chemical options for locust control, but they will need to contact their winery or grape purchaser, to discuss chemical control options once vines are at growth stage E-L 25 (80% cap fall), which occurs around mid October to mid November.
Another important matter is that vineyard operators and neighbouring properties to vineyards work together on locust control, to ensure that any direct chemical applications and spray drift do not contaminate produce with chemical residues. Control strategies for farmers with different crops particularly cereals will be different to horticulture, so regular discussion between neighbours is critical.
Monitor for emergence of hoppers on your property - particularly roadsides, tracks and areas of hard ground, as well as within the vines.
Hoppers are expected to stay close to the ground but may cause some damage to lower parts of the canopy, particularly as they develop.
Apply pesticide directly onto hoppers when they have congregated together in bands. This will occur when the hoppers are at a specific developmental stage (3rd instar). It is NOT necessary to spray entire vineyards, only spray where and when hoppers have banded together.
Using undervine or inter-row boom sprays or equivalent rather than air blasters and misters will direct the pesticide onto the hoppers rather than onto vines, reducing any potential impact of insecticides on vines and grapes.
Continue to monitor hopper activity as additional sprays may be required, and hoppers may move in from neighbouring areas.
Check with your winery or grape purchaser prior to any 1A or 1B insecticide application. Only apply chemicals that are registered for use in vines or have permit for the pest. It is important that chemical applicators ensure that products are approved for their crop/situation and if operating off-label under a permit that they obtain a copy of, read and follow all the conditions of those permits (including withholding periods that appear on product labels for the crop).
Notes on active constituents
It is important that chemical applicators ensure that products are approved for their crop/situation and if operating off-label under a permit that they obtain a copy of the permit and follow all the conditions.
While the active constituents listed in the table below will control APL hoppers, they are not all the same. Consult your winery or grape purchaser for preferred chemicals. Some may not be available due to high demand this season.
Metarhizium anisopliae is not a 'knockdown' insecticide and will take at least 8 days to take effect.
Options for 'hopper' control of APL
The following table lists the registered chemicals and current off-label permits issued for grapevines for the control of APL. It is essential that you read the conditions attached to the permit prior to use. The withholding period (WHP) advice is for control of the APL hopper stage.
| TAS | NSW | QLD | SA | WA | VIC | WHP | |
| fenitrothion | Registered |
Use up to 80% capfall. Contact your winery or grape purchaser prior to further use. | |||||
| Metarhizium anisopliae | Registered |
Not specified | |||||
| carbaryl | PER11658 | ** | Use up to 80% capfall. Contact your winery or grape purchaser prior to further use. | ||||
| chlorpyrifos | PER12255 | PER11658 | ** | Use up to 80% capfall. Contact your winery or grape purchaser prior to further use. | |||
| diazinon | * |
Registered | ** | Use up to 80% capfall. Contact your winery or grape purchaser prior to further use. | |||
| maldison | PER11843 | PER12255 | PER11658 | ** | Use up to 80% capfall. Contact your winery or grape purchaser prior to further use. | ||
| Non-bering vines only | |||||||
| alpha-cypermethrin | PER10927 | PER10927 | PER10927 | ** | Not specified | ||
* South Australian legislation allows use of a product where the use pattern is registered in another state. For further information contact PIRSA (08) 8226 0222.
** Victoria is not included under the various permits because their 'control-of-use' legislation means that a permit is not required to legalise off-label use in Victoria. It is recommended that you seek further advice from the Chemical Standards Branch of Victorian DPI by calling (03) 9217 4177 or emailing chemicalstandards@dpi.vic.gov.au.
Industry and Investment NSW has a webpage dedicated to locust control for NSW with information being updated constantly and growers can subscribe to receive updates as they come to hand, the website can be found at http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pests-weeds/insects/locusts click on the locust at the left of the page.
Details for registered chemicals and current off-label permits issued for grapevines for the control of Australian plague locust, is available from the Australian Wine Research Institute website www.awri.com.au
It is recommended that you contact your winery or grape purchaser prior to the application of any chemical control measure and chemicals with an off-label permit.
If people would like further details, please contact Jason Cappello, Extension Viticulturist at the Griffith Office of I&I NSW, on 02 6960 1300.
