1 December 2020.
Fall armyworm is a high-flying, extremely prolific pest moth causing widespread crop damage wherever it goes, with maize, sweet corn, popcorn, grain sorghum, irrigated forage sorghum, millet, and summer pulses all affected.
Mung beans, cotton, sunflowers, and rice crops have not suffered damage in 2020.
Since first being detected in Australia at the start of the year, fall armyworm has spread from Queensland to the Northern Territory, Western Australia, New South Wales, and most recently to Victoria.
Fall armyworm feeds on a wide range of 350 known plants, including horticultural crops and some grasses, and the entire life cycle, from egg to adult, takes only 30 days.
Multiple industries, researchers, and crop protection companies, including AgForce’s corporate sponsor FMC, are working on options for integrated pest management of this new problem insect pest.
The Australian Government injected $600,000 funding into Plant Health Australia to advance FAW research.
Producers who think they might be affected should:
- Regularly monitor and inspect crops to detect pests
- Only consider applying insecticides to large populations of small young larvae affecting more than 80 per cent of the crop, with multiple larvae per whorl and when plant defoliation will affect crop yield
- Minimise the risk of insecticide resistance by applying an appropriate Mode of Action insecticide. Select products with minimal impact on natural enemies to fall armyworm. Follow crop withholding periods
Unfortunately, fall armyworm thrives in summer temperatures and will only suffer when frosts occur in autumn/winter in 2021 or temperatures stay below 10 degrees Celsius. Therefore, in the long term it may not be economically feasible to grow some crops in certain regions due to the impact of fall armyworm.
Useful resources
- The Beatsheet Blog for identification
- Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) portal and webinar
- 37 Emergency and Minor Use permits