Download army worm moths9/3/2023 ![]() Work is getting underway to understand more about this pest in the New Zealand context,” Ivan says. “Modellers and entomologists are surprised at how far south some of these finds have been. Ivan Lawrie, the GM of Business Operations at the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR), says there is speculation the fall armyworm may have been present in small numbers here for several years. ![]() It’s likely some moths were blown here from Australia last February, with eggs/larva surviving a relatively benign winter in the upper North Island. As a hitchhiker pest that can be blown many hundreds of kilometres on storm fronts, it has been on Biosecurity New Zealand’s radar for some time.Īs a tropical species, and one that our winters would normally kill off, it had been thought that the risk of sustained infestations here were likely to be low, and localised. The fall armyworm moth is native to the Americas and since 2016 has spread to Africa, Asia and parts of Australia. They can also go for the likes of asparagus, beans, peas, brassica, onions and kumara. Apart from anything else, growers owe it to neighbours, who may have crops at an earlier growth stage when spraying is still effective, to give them that heads-up.”įall armyworm can feed on over 350 plant species, but by far their favourite dining table are maize and sweetcorn crops. “In this current response phase, findings must be reported to MPI. “It’s a real nuisance and in the longer term, with climate change and the prospect of milder winters, it’s a pest that growers may have to cater for as an extra sweep in their regular spraying programmes,” Federated Farmers Arable Industry Chairperson Colin Hurst says. More than 300 such traps have now been set in regions around New Zealand. Feds Arable Chairperson Colin Hurst with one of the fall armyworm pheromone traps he has placed in his maize fields.
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