Animal Sciences Commons^™

Identification And Control Of Pest Slugs And Snails For Broadacre Crops In Western Australia, Svetlana Micic, Ken Henry, Paul Horne

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The numbers of slugs and snails have increased in broadacre cropping in Western Australia with the use of minimum tillage and stubble-retention practices. The organic content of paddocks increases under such systems, providing an increased food source especially to young slugs and snails. Soil moisture content is greater over summer leading to higher survival levels of slugs and snails.

Slug and snail pests in Australia have come from other countries, mainly the Mediterranean region. They damage plant seeds (mainly legumes), recently germinated seeds, seedlings and leaves and can be a contaminant of grain at harvest.