Diagnosing bryobia mite

• Over-wintering eggs are most likely laid early to mid winter and hatch as conditions warm up in spring. As pastures deteriorate in late spring or summer, over-summering eggs are laid.
• These eggs hatch as soon as there is sufficient moisture for plants to germinate.
• Adult clover mites are most active in warm conditions especially in late spring summer and autumn. These mites do not generally survive cold winter conditions or very dry summer conditions. All life stages can be present in protected areas if there is sufficient green plant material.

• Bryobia mite is difficult to control if sprays are targeted to stop damage to crops at emergence.
• It is best controlled by killing all weeds well before seeding and/or applying a miticide to the weeds with the knockdown herbicide.

To assist in assessing the economic risk and financial costs associated with various treatment strategies go to MyEconomicTool [1]

There may be other economic and financial implications that need to be considered when choosing a management option. These may include:

• Understand the potential yield losses associated with mite feeding damage.
• Assess the costs and benefits of taking preventative action.
• Assess the cost and benefits of controlling summer weeds to reduce potential feed source.

• Compare the costs, benefits and risk of each management option against doing nothing.
• Consider risk and associated costs or savings of no treatment or delaying treatment.
• Ignore all previous treatment costs in assessing current management options.
• Undertake a “what if” scenario analysis to see what impact changing assumptions (e.g. grain price and seasonal conditions), have on the projected economic outcomes.

• Include a resistance management strategy into your spray program to reduce the chance of mites and other non-target pests developing resistance.

View these economic considerations in more detail. [2]

• Monitor canola crops from seeding, especially crops sown in warm weather and in paddocks where there has been a green bridge or susceptible crop or pasture the previous year.