Margaret River EcoVineyards Integrated Pest Management and Microbats event

Practical ways to manage insect pests, grow in harmony with nature and improve the resilience of their vineyard.

National EcoVineyards Program: Integrated Pest Management and Microbat walk

Join Dr Mary Retallack, Retallack Viticulture Pty Ltd and National EcoVineyards Program Manager, an agroecologist/viticulturist with 30 years of practical experience within Australia and overseas, and our Regional On-Ground Coordinator, Rebecca Archer, a Lower Blackwood LCDC team member with a passion for identifying and utilising suitable endemic plant species in agricultural landscapes to increase biodiversity, and our special guest presenter Brendan Metcalf, a microbat expert who will introduce us to the wonderful world of microbats, their capacity to provide biocontrol of insect pests in vineyards and how to monitor for their presence during a night walk.

Schedule

• 4.30 pm: Registration and foot baths

• 4.45 to 5.15 pm: New insights for biocontrol of insect pests (LBAM, scale and mealybugs) by Dr Mary Retallack, Retallack Viticulture Pty Ltd

In the vineyard

• 5.15 to 6.15 pm: Field walk and talk with Dr Mary Retallack who will demonstrate arthropod sampling in the vineyard and how to assess leaf brix

Sundowner drinks and dinner

• 6.15 to 7.15 pm: Sundowner drinks and BBQ plus regional update

• 7.15 to 7.30 pm: New EcoVineyards resources by Dr Mary Retallack

• 7.30 to 7.45 pm: Hydroseeding update by ROC, Rebecca Archer

• 7.45 to 8.45 pm: Microbat talk at dusk by local microbat expert, Brendan Metcalf

Night walk

• 8.45 to 9.30 pm: Microbat night walk led by local microbat expert, Brendan Metcalf