Request for Proposal:

Improving management of leafrollers and chilli thrips in rubus and blueberry (MT24009)

Horticulture Innovation Australia (Hort Innovation) is a not-for-profit, grower-owned Research and Development Corporation (RDC) for Australia’s $16.3 billion horticulture industry. Hort Innovation invests around $154 million in research and development (R&D) and marketing programs annually to provide benefit to industry and the wider community.

Hort Innovation is seeking a suitably qualified, experienced and capable delivery partner for the project: Improving management of leafrollers and chilli thrips in rubus and blueberry (MT24009).

The key objectives of this investment are outlined below:

Leafrollers

• Enhance our comprehension of the host range, seasonality, and biology of key leafrollers - Review national and international.

• Research potential lures/pheromone blends to attract leafrollers, assessing their efficacy for monitoring, mass trapping, and mating disruption.

• Explore potential biological control agents, including natural enemies.

Chilli thrip

• Enhance our understanding of global chilli thrip management strategies - Comprehensive review including biology of the pest, damage threshold, its alternative hosts.

• Develop improved management options, including availability of biological controls and access to integrated pest management compatible chemistries.

Hort Innovation has prepared a Request for Proposal (RFP) document that provides background information, outlines the scope of services, the procurement process and the information required from interested parties.