Smart Surveillance for Pests, Diseases and Weeds
Tender ID: 332392
Tender Details
Tender Description
GRDC relies on periodic economic surveys on the costs of disease, weeds and invertebrate pests when making investment decisions. GRDC needs better information to support a seasonal or twice seasonal situation analysis on biotic threats to improve investment decisions and to alert growers to changes in abundance of current threats or movement of new threats into different regions, or changes in biology of weeds pests or diseases or increased resistance of these threats. The development of new tools for trapping biotic threats will assist in providing some of this data for pests and disease but not weeds. The grains industry has a high adoption of agronomic consultants, and the use of electronic recording platforms (both commercial agronomists and growers). The utilisation of this rich source of biotic threat information has not been attempted. This investment is to scope the feasibility of integrating the skills of agronomists and/or the records they or grower keep to provide a more detailed picture of the current distribution and abundance of biotic threats. Integration of these data could lead to: the provision of improved pest alerts to growers; determination of changes in species abundance and temporal activity; warnings of the appearance of new biotic threats; development of resistance and management options being implemented by growers.
This GRDC investment is to:
1. By April 2018, provide a written review of the Australian and international scientific literature summarising the current knowledge on biotic threat survey techniques and technologies applicable to the Australian grain industry to address:
* How often to review / collect biotic threat and beneficial species data (within a season)
* What is the best method to collect biotic threat and beneficial species data?
* What are the barriers to collecting data and or reporting?
* How best to collate data and predict or show temporal changes?
* Best methods for Statistical analysis and collation of data sets
The report should include:
* An assessment of the accessibility, quantity and quality of available data
* An assessment of the gaps in current knowledge and data
* Different assessment methods for different between and within weeds, diseases, invertebrate and vertebrate pests and beneficial species
* Which species is predictive modelling appropriate to achieve improve management
The report should be suitable for distribution to grain growers in GRDC publications as determined by the GRDC and as a scientific journal paper (if appropriate).
2. By April 2018, a written report on the accessibility and ownership of data sets held or collected through private agronomy sources (e.g. electronic farm records, contracting agronomists records, incentives for reporting to current systems).
The report should include:
* Likely access and cost to access data sets
* The geographic coverage of the data sets
* The level of quantification of abundance of biotic threats and the management options being undertaken
* Limitations and barriers to reporting
* Constraints and risks in each collection method including any liability issues or limitations on dissemination of data
Location
New South Wales : Central West : Far North Coast : Far West : Hunter : Illawarra : Mid North Coast : Murray : New England : Orana : Riverina : Southern Highlands : Sydney
Queensland : Cairns & Far North Queensland : Gladstone : Mackay Whitsunday Region : Mount Isa & North West Region : Rockhampton : South East Queensland : South West & Darling Downs : The Central West : Townsville : Wide Bay Burnett
Victoria : Barwon South West : Gippsland : Grampians : Hume : Loddon Mallee : Melbourne
South Australia : Adelaide : Eyre & Western : Far North : Fleurieu & Kangaroo Island : Limestone Coast : Murray & Mallee : York & Mid North
Northern Territory : Big Rivers : Central Australia : East Arnhem : Greater Darwin
Australian Capital Territory
Tasmania
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