The University of Queensland is working with the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) to develop guidelines to help Australian grain growers decide when and how to treat fall armyworm (FAW) to save their crops and finances.
The University of Queensland is working with the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) to develop guidelines to help Australian grain growers decide when and how to treat fall armyworm (FAW) to save their crops and finances.
The highly invasive pest was detected in Australia three years ago and poses a major threat to broadacre crops including maize and sorghum.
Dr Joe Eyre from UQ’s Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) is working with DAF on the project, which has investment from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and will determine economic thresholds for the pest to give farmers certainty.
“The overseas recommendations for treating fall armyworm are vague, and we don’t know how they relate to the Australian environment,” Dr Eyre said.
Read more at: University of Queensland
Fall armyworm in a trial crop. (Photo Credit: Megan Pope)
