| Abscission |
The normal shedding of leaves, flowers or fruits from plants |
| ACRI |
Australian Cotton Research Institute |
| Adjuvant |
A substance that enhances the performance of insecticides or fungicides |
| Allomones |
Are semiochemicals that induce a behavioural or physiological
change in a member of another species that is of benefit to the
producer, eg secretions that deter predators |
| Aromatic |
Molecules in an oil built of benzene-like ringed structures |
| APVMA |
Australian Pesticides & Veterinary Medicines Authority |
| Base Oil |
The pure, unformulated, mineral oil component of petroleum spray oils |
| Beneficial |
A naturally present insect, bug or beetle that preys on pest insects or mites. They do not eat plant parts. Beneficials provide a natural level of control and their presence should be encouraged |
| Beneficial Disruption INdex (BDI) |
A rating system from very soft to very hard that indicates the degree of disruption an insecticide causes to the presence of beneficials |
| Biodegradable |
Molecules that break down quickly in the environment due to the action of microbes |
| Broad spectrum insecticide |
Insecticides in which the mode-of-action does not discriminate between various organisms. They are likely to kill both pest and beneficial alike |
| Calyx |
The outermost part or protective covering of a flower,
or in the case of fruit, the skin membrane |
| CCA |
Cotton Consultants Australia |
| %Cp |
The percentage of atoms in the oil that are present in paraffinic chains |
| Crawler |
Mobile, early life stage of scale and other pests |
| Crop rotation |
Planting a succession of crops in a field over several years prevents buildup of pests that can occur when the same crop is grown repeatedly |
| Chemical resistance |
The attribute of a pest population from which subsequent generations of the pest are able to survive higher and higher concentrations of chemicals applied to control them |
| Defoliation |
Causing the leaves of plants and trees to fall off through the use of chemicals |
| Dormant |
The deep-winter state of a deciduous fruit tree after the
leaves have fallen |
| Economic threshold |
The number of pests present in a crop at which the cost to apply a controlling spray is compensated for by increased crop yield |
| Emulsion stability |
When added to water, spray oils for an emulsion. the tendency for the spray oil to remain evenly dispersed throughout the water is described by its emulsion stability. Emulsions that are 'quick break' result in better leaf coverage because the oil separates quickly from the emulsion droplet on the leaf, and any run-off that occurs should be mostly water. It is best to compromise between the 2 extremes of stability so that the tank mixture remains evenly dispersed but good coverage is obtained when the mixture is sprayed |
| Flocculation |
Refers to the process by which fine particulates are caused to clump together into 'floc'. The 'floc' may then float to the top of the liquid or settle to the bottom of the liquid and readily block filters |
| Genetically modified (GM) |
GM or transgenic cotton was originally developed in 1996 by incorporating the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which becomes toxic to Helicoverpa when the cotton plant is ingested (eg Bollgard® II). Other GM varieties have been developed with inbuilt resistance to herbicides, such as Roundup® Ready, so the cotton crop is unaffected by weed control
|
| Horticultural oils |
Spray oils that are of sufficient quality to be used in
horticultural pest control |
| Humectant |
A compound that has the ability to absorb water from the air.
In doing so, it swells, and this can slow down the penetration
of spray oils into leaf cuticles |
| Inherently biodegradable |
Molecules that biodegrade, but not at a rate fast enough to be classed as directly biodegradable |
| Intercropping |
Techniques where one crop is sown into another (sometimes known as overseeding and undersowing) |
| IPM |
Integrated Pest Management, a pest control strategy that does not rely solely on the use of chemicals to control pests. IPM uses a combination of farm hygiene, crop scouting and monitoring, economic spray thresholds and the presence of beneficial insects, as chemical spray decision tools |
| IPM cultural controls |
Agronomic practices that seek to improve yields and enhance beneficial natural enemies, while reducing pest populations. These can include crop rotation, multiple cropping, intercropping, strip and border crops, ploughing, cultivation, mulches, effects of fertilisers, the use of certified disease-free plants and seeds, pasturage, carefully managed irrigation and generally practising good sanitation methods that minimise persistent pest problems |
| IRMS |
Insecticide Resistance Management Strategy |
| Isoparaffin |
A paraffinic molecule in which there is a branching of the carbon chain |
| Median equivalent n-paraffin carbon number |
Base oils contain many thousands of different molecules with a wide range of sizes. This number is an approximation of the size of, or number of carbon atoms in, the mid sized molecule in the oil. For example, the mid sized molecule in an n-C23 oil has the equivalent of 23 carbon atoms in its structure |
| Multiple cropping |
A cropping system in which several crops are grown in succession within a season |
| n- |
Normal. A prefix used to indicate that a molecule has a straight carbon chain structure |
| Naphthenic oil |
A mineral oil in which less than 60% of the atoms in the oil exist in non-ringed molecular structures |
| Non-ionic surfactant/emulsifier |
Surfactants in which the 'water-loving' head section is not positively or negatively charged. The performance of these surfactants is not sensitive to water hardness |
| NSWAg |
NSW Department of Agriculture |
| Paraffinic oil |
A mineral oil in which more than 60% of the atoms in the oil exist in non-ringed (ie either straight chain or branched) molecular structures |
| Pasturage |
Grazing animals in a crop field before, during or after harvest can reduce pest problems |
| Petroleum spray oil |
A pest control product made from refined petroleum oil and surfactants |
| Pheromones |
Pheromones are semiochemicals that are produced
and received by members of the same species. Pest
management programs most often use compounds that
attract a mate (sex pheromones) or call others to a suitable
food or nesting site (aggregation pheromones) |
| Phytotoxicity |
The tendency of a compound to physically damage a plant part |
| QDPI |
Queensland Department of Primary Industries |
| Refine |
The process of removing aromatic and other polar compounds and waxes from crude oil |
| Semiochemicals |
Chemicals produced by organisms that carry messages
either within or between species. The most significant
semiochemicals in IPM are pheromones and allomones |
| Senescence |
The process of aging in a leaf from full maturity to death |
| Spiracle |
The external opening of the breathing tube of an insect |
| Surfactant/emulsifier |
Molecules with a 'water-loving' head and an 'oil-loving' tail section; a structure that enables oil to be mixed with water to form a milky emulsion |
| Trap crop |
A sacrificial crop that is far more attractive than the main crop
to particular pests. Often once a trap crop is infested, it is
treated with a chemical intervention or physically destroyed |
| % UR |
Percent unsulphonatable reside, is a number that describes the purity and refinement level of a base oil. The higher the number, the more refined it is and the lower the risk of phytotoxicity. The industry minimum acceptable % UR for oils applied to verdant crops is 92. The effective % UR can be increased by the presence of suitable UV sunscreen which protects the oil from breakdown |
| Viscosity (V @ 40°C) |
a measure of the rate at which a fluid can flow. It changes with temperature so therefore is usually specified at a temperature, in this case 40°C |
| Volatiles |
Molecules that are released to the atmosphere from the surface of a plant. Pests often use these to guide them to suitable feeding and breeding sites |
