September 7, 2010

 

Cool weather poses locust threats in Australia

 
 

Delays in locust hatchings due to cool weather will reduce the available time for spraying and could put contamination risk to crops, says the South Australian Government.


The Australian Plague Locust Commission says cool, wet weather is expected to push back the general hatching period by about two weeks.


SA Agriculture Minister Michael O'Brien says there is only a limited time for spraying before harvest. He said it would be helpful to get the hatchings out of the way so spraying can begin.


"We don't want too much help from mother nature because the longer the hatchings are delayed, the closer they are to reaping of grain. What we want to ultimately avoid is contamination of grain with chemical that's been used to deal with locusts. There are withholding periods that we've got to basically abide by, otherwise our grain will be banned from export," O'Brien said.

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