Paper short abstract:

Tracing campaigns to 'control' two keys pests in Riverland (South Australia) citrus orchards between 1948 and 1970 reveals the foundational economic priorities and ideologies that drove outcomes for more-than-human lives and deaths.

Paper long abstract:

On the banks of the River Murray in the semi-arid Riverland (South Australia), irrigated orchards and vineyards formed the basis of colonial settlement and industry from the late nineteenth century. By the mid-twentieth century, the South Australian citrus industry experienced major growth, predominantly in the Riverland region, with area under citrus doubling between 1948 and 1970. With this expansion came increased economic benefits for primary producers and secondary industry. However, this expansion also heightened risks associated with climate, market saturation, and pest pressure - perennial problems in monocultural agriculture. Growers and industry players attempted to 'control' major pests such as Red Scale and Fruit Fly that threatened the value and health of crops and orchards. Analysing the discursive and material methods deployed by growers and industry bodies to control these pests reveals the ideological work done to prioritise economic outcomes, and to structure life and death in economically convenient forms. This paper explores the role of death and killing in capital creation within a historical local context and offers a more-than-human perspective on the complex interplay of local and global commodity production in the twentieth century.