This project focused on validating agroecological and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches to crop protection for onions and vegetable crops. The project’s activities include:

• upgrading the Metwatch onion downy mildew decision support tool to enable effective fungicide programming, and demonstrating and increasing grower use of the tool to manage the changing fungicide landscape;
• establishing a demonstration farm that incorporates crop rotation and enables crop protection extension;
• utilising the demonstration farm to share results, and host onsite field days and grower workshops.

The farm also hosts the biodiverse planting on vegetable farms project, which aims to manipulate the abundance of beneficial insects on vegetable farms to reduce pests in crops by adopting existing knowledge as proof-of-concept trials in New Zealand vegetable cropping situations.

Read project updates:

• July 2023: Onion Thrips focus of upcoming spray use trials
• August 2023: Weather and disease tech to support crop management
• September 2023: Strong interest in IPM workshops
• November 2023: IPM workshops grow knowledge and marketable crop
• January 2024: Big thanks for demo farm support
• February 2024: Green vegetable bug focus of new project
• April 2024: Harvesting crops with a lighter touch
• June 2024: Grower endorses lighter touch crop management
• October 2024: Onion thrips trials explore best insecticide practice
• October 2024: Spring barley, broccoli and onions focus of IPM workshop
• February 2025: Stemphylium trial seeks alternative controls
• March 2025: Trap crop trialled as part of IPM solution

This case study shares the crop protection approach taken in successfully harvesting a marketable spring lettuce crop, using integrated pest management and biodiversity as key strategies.

Download the

• the Case study: IPM and biodiversity in lettuce, Spring 2023 here.
• the Case study: IPM and biodiversity in lettuce, Winter 2024 here.