GRDC/DPI Capacity Building

“This project assisted me in establishing effective collaborative links with stakeholders in regional NSW and the scientific community nationally. It has helped me build credibility within the industry and increased my profile as a field crops entomologist in northern NSW”.

NSW DPI’s Zorica Duric is a Field Crop Entomologist who hails from Prijedor in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is based at the Tamworth Agricultural Institute, where she is currently working in the Grains Agronomy Pathology Partnership’s (GAPP) capacity building and skills development program. The GAPP is a long-term partnership between NSW DPI and the GRDC, focused on building research capacity in projects of importance to northern region growers.

Her career began with an undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Science in Plant Protection from the University of Belgrade, Republic of Serbia which focused on Endosulfan effects on mites in grapevines. She continued her studies with a Master’s degree and then her PhD into the tomato leafminer at the University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Before moving to Tamworth, Zorica was a lecturer and researcher in the agriculture faculty at University of Banja Luka (Bosnia and Hercegovina) for 13 years.

Together with her husband and children, Zorica moved to Australia and settled in Tamworth in 2017.

Zorica Duric in the glasshouse looking at aphids on field peas

Why did you want to work in agriculture? And why research?

“I always liked agriculture, growing crops, nature, etc, and, believe me or not, I was afraid of insects when I was kid. At the agricultural faculty at Belgrade University, I was intrigued by my entomology professor, whose lessons were always interesting and my fear of insects grew into an admiration of these creatures”

Zorica’s passion for research in agriculture came from her first job, where she joined a team of researchers at the Agricultural Institute Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in the project “Monitoring of corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera)”.

What are you working on at NSW DPI?

Zorica’s work at NSW DPI’s Tamworth Agricultural Institute (TAI) involves conducting laboratory, glasshouse and field surveys, studying insect life cycles, distribution and population dynamics across a broad range of crop pests.

Zorica’s first supervisor was Joop van Leur (Senior Plant Pathologist, TAI) where she worked as a technical officer under the GAPP bilateral project “Monitoring aphid vectors to develop a pulse virus prediction and management program”. After that, she accepted the position of Research Officer, Field Crop Entomology at TAI under the GAPP project.

Zorica has recently embarked on a new GRDC project “Improved Management of Rutherglen bug”,  where she is coordinating the NSW DPI team to explore the movement and emergence of Rutherglen bugs from different habitats in the Northern Region.

“At the moment I am part of big DPI family under the Summer Cropping Team supervised by Rod Jackson”.

Why do you like working for DPI?

“I find DPI as very supportive and most importantly flexible, along with being a family friendly, working environment”.

What skills have you developed because of the project?

Zorica’s broad experience in pest management in horticulture gained overseas has been integrated into the Australian agriculture landscape.  Her skills have been developed to be able to identify and help manage key R&D issues in the GRDC northern grains region, such as aphids in winter pulses and cereal crops. This has included work into Russian wheat aphids, their distribution and host range.

Collaborating with Joop van Leur on aphids as virus vectors assisted Zorica improve her skill set, as well as conduct her own research into newly introduced aphid species in Australia.

Zorica knows that building a strong team is critical to the success of any project. While working on this project, her team management skills have developed as she is managing a small team of two technical officers and one technical assistant who aid in organising seasonal field and glasshouse trials.

How has this project set you up for future advancement in your career and research?

“This project assisted me in establishing effective collaborative links with stakeholders in regional NSW and the scientific community nationally. It has helped me build credibility within the industry and increased my profile as a field crops entomologist in northern NSW”.

What are the main things you have learnt?

“The most important for me is to understand the interaction of insects with the environment and agricultural practices that are established in the northern region. And I’m learning something new every day!”.

How will your research help farmers in the field?

Zorica has worked hard to develop relationships with a number of leading agronomists and advisers across the northern grains region so she could hear first-hand the pest issues affecting growers. This enables her research and messages to address industry concerns in a timely manner.

Zorica responses to industry inquires, such as pest identification and management, and aims to conduct additional research to provide answers if industry is facing an emerging issue.

“My research is set up according the industry needs coupled with integrated pest management”.

Any consequences that will help the larger community?

Zorica believes this project will help grain growers, agronomists and advisers better understand insect management practices and decrease insecticide usage.

What collaborations have you developed because of the project?

Zorica has developed valuable collaboration, both intra and inter -state. Such collaborations include with GRDC, NSW DPI (Orange, Wagga Wagga, Trangie, Narrabri, Grafton), DAF (Toowoomba, Goondiwindi), SARDI (Adelaide), CSIRO (Brisbane, Canberra), UQ (Brisbane), Cesar (Melbourne), Northern Growers Alliance (NGA) and several commercial and adviser companies in NSW.

What new projects or holes in current research have you identified?

Zorica believes there is a gap in the general understanding of insect biology. In particular, their movement and population dynamics, when teamed with environment fluctuations. These gaps need an in-depth analysis so appropriate IPM strategies can be developed.

What have been the biggest surprises in your research?

Zorica was one of the first people in NSW to identify the newly introduced aphid (Megoura crassicauda), commonly known as the faba bean aphid. She hoped this new pest would not be found in NSW after two years of drought due to its limited host range and the extreme weather conditions at the time. However, it managed to survive in mild, coastal environments and very likely in domestic vegetable gardens and continued its spread from there to commercial inland faba bean crops.

“After 17 years working in entomology, I am still amazed with insects’ survival strategies. They manage to survive extreme cold and warm environments, drought and floods, lack of hosts, natural enemies, and even chemicals”.

What do you do when you’re not looking down a microscope or frolicking in the paddock?

Zorica is very much family-oriented person. Her husband Branko and herself have a full-time role and supporting their boys’ interests. She also enjoys gardening, dog walking and body balance.

Figure 2: Zorica collecting aphids in a canola crop.

Figure 3: Zorica uses Sentinel 5 suction trap fop her research. The trap has 2 tubes and collects insects from 2 heights: 2 m which collects various insects that are present in the field and a 6 m height that collects migratory insects, such as thrips and aphids