Know your pest pressure: Monitoring is the foundation for managing lucerne seed wasp

Lucerne seed wasp (LSW) is a serious pest in alfalfa crops, causing damage that is difficult to see in the field. Its larvae feed inside developing seeds, meaning losses may not become apparent until harvest, cleaning or seed delivery, when it is too late to intervene. Each wasp represents a lost seed, with infested seeds removed by seed-cleaning facilities along with other impurities.