Uh-oh! Greenhouse grower Joe El-Boustani looks like he’s drawn an EPA Inspector in a round of the new card game, Pest Sense, as colleagues and industry representatives watching enjoy the joke.

Mr El-Boustani, a leader amongst Lebanese market gardeners, is adopting integrated pest management techniques on his tomato and cucumber farm and hopes Sydney’s predominantly Middle-eastern and Asian growers will follow his lead.

DPI Plant pathologist, Len Tesoriero (centre), who devised Pest Sense, says the card game will be the perfect tool to help IPM information 'gel'.

DPI extension project officer, Stacey Azzopardi, (second from left) said she planned to use Pest Sense at a forthcoming field day for growers on the farm of another greenhouse grower Moustafa Osman (left) and more widely thereafter.

The first print run of a unique card game, brainstormed as an aid to teaching the intricacies of integrated pest management (IPM) and correct use of pesticides, is on the market.

The game - Pest Sense - based on gin rummy, has drawn enthusiastic comment from secondary schools, would be useful in TAFEs and university undergrad courses and may well find an international market.

NSW Department of Primary Industries plant pathologist, Len Tesoriero, originally devised Pest Sense to help market gardeners in the Sydney basin.

For these growers, many of whom have little or no English and low literacy even in their own language, critical tasks like reading pesticide labels and recording pesticide use is difficult.

Mr Tesoriero, of the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute at Camden, has been involved in many workshops and pesticide training courses with Chinese, Lebanese, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Middle Eastern market gardener groups.

"Misuse or overuse of chemicals by growers of non-English speaking backgrounds is more out of ignorance than disregard for the law," Mr Tesoriero said.

Registration of chemicals has lagged behind the explosion in the range of Asian vegetables now being grown, so for many crops no chemicals were registered, nor were permits available for attacking pests or diseases.

In developing Pest Sense, Mr Tesoriero observed that some pesticide certification courses, delivered to growers as lectures, could have been much more stimulating and engaging.

He learnt that in practical situations, like field inspections of crops, Asian growers were much more willing to open up and talk about disease and pest problems.

Inspiration for the card game crystallised when, as part of this process he was collecting samples of disease or pest damage to crops and having them recorded by department photographer, Lowan Turton.

The idea of using the pictures to reinforce growers’ participation in lectures gave birth to Pest Sense.

"The idea is that growers can break into groups and be given some activity - up to six can play the game for about 10 minutes," Mr Tesoriero said.

The cards are slightly larger than a conventional playing deck but instead of suits and royals have pictures that include insect pests, beneficial insects, pesticide containers, an Environmental Protection Authority inspector, a person disposing of chemicals safely.

As with normal cards there is a hierarchy so that a beneficial insect will overrule a pest insect, or if for example you pick up a card for illegal organochlorines, you have to get rid of it by drawing a safe chemical disposal card.

Players are allowed to look at a neighbour’s cards, to help everyone understand the principles involved.

The first production run of 250 decks of Pest Sense are available at the introductory price of $38.50 including GST (plus postage and handling) from the NSW Department of Primary Industries Bookshop on 1800 028 374.

Contact Len Tesoriero, 02 4640 6406.