The A Lighter Touch Podcast

In the second episode, of the two part series, focused on the TomatoesNZ-A Lighter Touch tomatoes biocontrol project, we tell the story of this five-year project which has seen an industry shift from agrichemical reliance to biological controls.We follow the project journey, taking a native bug found in the New Zealand bush and trialling it in commercial greenhouses to develop a sustainable crop protection programme for two major industry pests, tomato-potato psyllid and greenhouse whitefly.Find

In this episode, the first of a two part series, we explain the science of augmentative biocontrol using a native insect.This science underpins the A Lighter Touch and TomatoesNZ project to revitalise biocontrol of greenhouse pests, which was disrupted by the arrival of a new pest, the tomato-potato psyllid.Find more infomation on the Tomatoes biocontrol project page of the ALT website. Grower resources on integated pest management (IPM) mentioned in the epsiode are here. Looking for more tools,

This second episode of a two-part series explores how introducing more biodiversity into the orchard can increase beneficial insect populations to help sustainably manage insect pests, and cut down on agrichemicals.This episode discusses the practical demonstration of the science on two citrus orchards in Gisborne.Links to the grower guides referenced in this episode:Guide 1: Establishing floral resources for improved biological controlGuide 2: Insect monitoring of perennial cropsGuide 3: Management

This is the first of two episodes exploring how introducing more biodiversity into the orchard can increase beneficial insect populations to help sustainably manage insect pests, and cut down on agrichemicals.It’s a look at farming that works with nature, not against it.Links to the grower guides referenced in this episode:Guide 1: Establishing floral resources for improved biological controlGuide 2: Insect monitoring of perennial cropsGuide 3: Management and evaluation of beneficial plantingPlus,