Fall armyworm was detected in Australia in early 2020 but could it have been here a lot longer.
Senior Research Scientist with CSIRO, WeeTek Tay delves into the genetics of fall armyworm and its different global populations so we can better understand their spread patterns and biosecurity pathways.
Since the first detection of fall armyworm in Australia researchers and agronomists have been quick to come together and establish field trials and laboratory experiments to help understand its likely impact on crops and productions systems in the top end.
Northern Territory’s Department of Primary Industry and Resources Senior Principal Entomologist, Brian Thistleton and Senior Entomologist, Praise Justo-Tadle give us an insight into what they are recording in some of their field trials and lab experiments on fall armyworm and what growers should be looking out for in the lead up to the wet season.
Following the establishment of fall armyworm populations in the Ord Valley in northern WA, researchers and agronomists have been working together to monitor it behaviour, feeding habits and potential spread throughout cropping areas of Western Australia.
Senior research scientist with WA’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Helen Spafford, and Ord River District Cooperative (ORDCO) agronomists, Penny Goldsmith discuss what they are observing in the Ord Valley and around Broome and the challenges growers are facing as they approach harvest.
We now have some valuable first-hand experience in dealing with fall armyworm in commercial crops in north Queensland.
Burdekin agronomist Brent Wilson from Nutien Ag Solutions at Home Hill and GRDC Seed of Light recipient Paul McIntosh from Pulse Australia and the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative share their insights into the need to manage resistance, developing thresholds, identifying fall armyworm, and where to look for them.
Since the recent arrival of fall armyworm in Australia, scientists, growers and agronomists across the north have been on a steep learning curve.
Home-grown entomologists Melina Miles and Paul Grundy from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries speak about their observations and thoughts on how the pest is behaving in Australia and the likely implications for management.
On this podcast we speak to FAO’s Elisabetta Tagliati about the risks posed by fall armyworm to global food and feed security and FAO’s efforts to develop international capacity and capabilitiy to manage the pest across 65 countries under a Global Action Plan.
Working across governments, industry, languages and neighbouring countries was critical in minimise the impact of the fall armyworm outbreak in South Africa.
Jan-Hendrik Venter, from South Africa’s Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, talks about the approach taken in response to their fall armyworm incursion in 2017.
Exploring the practical control strategies used in row crops and pastures across Texas, Extension specialist and IPM coordinator, David Kerns, from Texas A&M University talks about the different strains of FAW, the crops they effect and the tactics for control.
To understand how fall armyworm behaves in different parts of the US, and what this may mean for Australia, we spoke with two American researchers on their work over the past 30 years.
Greg Nuessly from the University of Florida and Dominic Reisig from North Carolina State University discuss their work under subtropical conditions in southern Florida where it is a primary pest every year in the same crops, and in cool temperate conditions in North Carolina where it is more sporadic.