Black field cricket is a serious pest for vegetables (especially kūmara) and pasture in northern areas of New Zealand. Black field cricket control options are limited, and consequently, the risk of resistance development due to the limited modes of action is high and of concern to growers.

To mitigate this risk and improve control outcomes through more targeted applications, more information is needed on the seasonal life cycle of Black field cricket.

This project proposes to understand the life cycle of Black field cricket in two phases:

Phase 1 – a knowledge review of both the literature and current kūmara grower pest management practice.
Phase 2 – to be determined and costed at stop/go following the completion of Phase 1.

Phase 1, the knowledge review, is now complete and phase 2 will be exploring trapping techniques, along with evaluating biological options for control. This work will not commence until 2025.

Read an article about the project here.