Fruit

Western Australia’s fruit growing industries extend from Kununurra in the far north to Albany on the cool south coast.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development works closely with industry to improve efficiency and increase returns from the farm gate to export markets.

Strawberries are the highest value export, supplying around two-thirds of the Australian total. Key markets in the last year were Singapore and New Zealand followed by Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.

Steady growth is occurring in the avocado, citrus and mango industries due to additional plantings and efficient production.

Articles

  • Mites of the Tetranychidae family (commonly known as spider mites) include some important pests of economic concern to agriculture and forestry.

  • Six-spotted mite can defoliate avocado trees and grapevines in the lower south-west of Western Australia.

  • European red mite feeds on leaves of fruit trees especially apples. This can result in premature leaf fall which affects fruit tree vigour and fruit quality.

  • Mites are one of the most consistent pests in deciduous fruit tree orchards in Western Australia. Over-reliance on miticides for control has led to pesticide resistance in some species.

  • Bananas in the Ord River Irrigation Area face two major insect pests (banana weevil borer and sugarcane bud moth) and two mites (russet and two-spotted).

  • The most common mite pest of strawberry crops is two-spotted mite (Tetranychus urticae), also known as spider mite or red-spider mite.

  • Mites (Acari) are arthropods, a group that includes insects and spiders. Some mites are large enough to be visible to the naked eye while others can only be seen with a hand lens or microscope.