Dr Felix Bianchi

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Good plant moisture status is critical in the first 20 days after flowering to allow potential fibre elongation rates.

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Achiever of the Month September 2008

Dr. Felix Bianchi of CSIRO Entomology,

Based at Indooroopilly in Queensland. Felix has a Masters of Science in Forestry from Wageningen University, Netherlands and completed his PhD on the Philosophy in Production Ecology and Resource Conservation.

This month’s Achiever of the Month is Dr. Felix Bianchi of CSIRO Entomology, based at Indooroopilly in Queensland. Felix has a Masters of Science in Forestry from Wageningen University, Netherlands and completed his PhD on the Philosophy in Production Ecology and Resource Conservation.

Currently Felix is one of the Principal Researchers for the Cotton CRC Project 2.4.11, entitled “Capturing the ecosystem service of pest control from native vegetation?”

Felix has been exploring ways to improve the pest control potential of natural enemies in cotton fields, by investigating the role of native remnants as sources for natural enemies and pests. The presence of beneficial insects, such as lady beetles, is essential to suppress pest populations in crops and reducing the need for pesticide use.

His research involves field experiments and spatial modelling to address natural pest control at the landscape scale to improve pest management strategies, Spatial modelling which is extremely important to answer questions like “how much native vegetation is needed for effective pest suppression by natural enemies?” and “at what distances has native vegetation still a positive effect on pest control in cotton fields?”.

Felix wins this month’s award not only for his excellent science but also his participation in numerous Cotton CRC extension activities including field days, workshops, and most recently delivering a hands on session at the Australian Cotton Conference

Since moving to Australia two years ago Felix has embraced the Australian outdoors and enjoys camping, hiking and visiting local National Parks. He is also a passionate Classical guitar player who has been playing for the past 20 years.