Slaters
- Amelup
Technical officer Rachel Golledge (DPIRD) has found slaters causing extensive damage in a germinating canola near Amelup. The slaters were active in patches of the paddock that had heavy, cloddy soil and ring barking or chewing through 20% of seedlings. The paddock contained many dead slater carcases, indicating the population has been present in the paddock for a while, and had good stubble cover on the ground.
Slaters survive on organic matter on the soil surface. If the organic matter dries out the slaters cannot survive. The heavy stubble load on the reported paddock aided their survival over summer.
Entomologist Svetlana Micic (DPIRD) says that in some years, slaters can be difficult to control.
At crop germination the only option is to bait or to spray. Baits registered for slater control have better efficacy than baits registered only for mollusc control. The application of residual insecticide sprays have had some efficacy in protecting a germinating canola crop from slater damage. However, as slaters are nocturnal and shelter under stubble it can be difficult to get good spray coverage for their control.
For more information refer to DPIRD’s Diagnosing slaters in crops and GRDC’s Mitigating snails, slugs and slaters in Southern Western Australia.
For more information contact Research scientist Svetlana Micic, Albany on +61 (0)8 9892 8591.
Article author: Svetlana Micic (DPIRD Albany).