Early rains have brought about the establishment of Brassica plants (pictured), such as radish and canola, which are common hosts of Diamondback Moth (DBm).
West Midlands Group mixed farming systems officer, Brianna Hindle, recently spent a few days driving around the countryside identifying areas that may be prone to Diamondback moth (DBm).
Brianna placed 40 traps between Eneabba, Coorow, Calingiri, Lancelin, Jurien Bay to begin monitoring the presence of this crop-destroying insect.
Plants were identified along the roadside, then the trap was setup at the and placed. The Brassica was visually inspected for any signs of DBm larvae.
A sample of plant was taken from all sites, with each trap site located between 20 to 30km apart.
Sites were marked on the MyPestGuide Reporter app, along with photos taken of the site and Brassica plants present.
While there was evidence of DBm activity on many plants in the form of leaf damage, Brianna discovered no larvae at any sites.
The traps will be collected in a month, and samples of DBm presence on the traps will be sent to DPIRD for analysis.