Diamondback Moth Sampling Plan

The Diamondback Moth Sampling Plan is a computer program that you can use to create a sampling plan specific for a particular scenario. It is designed to assist Australian Brassica vegetable growers with making decisions about the management of arthropod pests. The program is run through Excel.

Background

Diamondback moth is a significant pest of Brassica crops worldwide. Decisions about when to implement control strategies, such as insecticide applications, need to be based on sound estimates of population densities. A sampling plan can be used to do this. The development of an effective sampling plan should ultimately reduce the frequency of spraying, while still maintaining control of the pest population. There are three reasons why it is in a grower’s interest to keep the number of sprays to a minimum: cost, consumer concern/export demands in relation to pesticide residues, and development of insecticide resistance, which is a particularly important issue for diamondback moth. The situation in southern Australia and New Zealand is unique, as diamondback moth is typically the only major lepidopteran pest in Brassica crops. Many sampling plans have been developed for North American Brassica crops, but these plans are usually for lepidopteran pest complexes, such as diamondback moth, cabbage looper and cabbage worm.

Permitted use

No part of the Diamondback Moth Sampling Plan may be used or reproduced by means other than downloading from the DPI web site.

Disclaimer

This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its officers do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.

System requirements

To run the program you will need Microsoft Excel 97 or a later version.