Fall armyworm research, development and extension for horticulture

Welcome to the fall armyworm eHub!

On this site you can engage with the latest fall armyworm (FAW) research, development and extension (R, D & E) activities for horticulture:

read the latest news updates on FAW management, moth activities and seasonal patterns, and insecticide resistance results
access FAW R, D & E resources
engage in discussion, report on FAW activities, ask a question and provide feedback
find FAW-related event information.

To receive updates on information added to this page, register on this eHub and 'follow' the fall armyworm project.

This eHub page is delivered as part of the Hort Innovation funded project VG22006 'National Fall Armyworm (FAW) innovation system for the Australian vegetable industry'.

What's happening in fall armyworm research, development and extension?

Stay up to date with fall armyworm (FAW) research, development, and extension activities across FAW area-wide management regions.

The national FAW extension project (VG22006) is establishing area-wide management groups in the Bowen / Burdekin (North Queensland), Lockyer Valley (South East Queensland) and East Gippsland (Victoria) regions. In each region, researchers and extension officers are working with growers, agronomists, and industry participants to generate knowledge and tools for sustainable FAW management through a range of activities. Here are the activities currently underway. For questions or feedback, click on the contact name to email the researcher or extension officer or use the 'Questions and Information Request' tab at the top right corner of the FAW eHub.

Bowen / Burdekin, Queensland (2025-2026)

Demonstration / trial sites:
- Biopesticides trial to manage FAW in sweet corn (Ian Newton)
- Correlation between FAW trap catches and egg lays in sweet corn field (John Stanley)
FAW monitoring: Pheromone trapping (John Stanley)
Engagement activity, extension and communication: Field walk, Industry meeting (Ramesh Puri)

Lockyer Valley, South East Queensland (2025-2026)

Sweet corn varietal trial to understand the feeding behaviour of FAW - (Frezzel Tadle, John Duff).
FAW collection in Lockyer and Fassifern Valley for insecticide resistance testing - (Frezzel Tadle, John Duff)
FAW industry meeting/field day (sometime Feb or March) – (Frezzel Tadle, Melina Miles, John Duff)
FAW monitoring: Pheromone trapping (Frezzel Tadle)
FAW collections for inclusion in the resistance screening, with a focus on grain crops (maize in particular), complement the collections from horticultural crops being made by Praise
Participation in the development of an IRMS for FAW, with consideration for insecticide use patterns in non-horticultural crops grown in the region.
Engagement activity: Farm walk and Industry meeting (Frezzel Tadle)

East Gippsland, Victoria (2025-2026)

FAW monitoring: Pheromone trapping (Scott Botten)
FAW identification: LAMP testing (Scott Botten)
Engagement activity: Farm walk, Industry meeting (Scott Botten)

Stay up to date with activities across all FAW area-wide management regions through the FAW eHub and newsletter (Ramesh Puri).

(Image credit: location pins designed by rawpixel.com / Freepik)

Stay up to date with fall armyworm (FAW) research activities across Australia. Various organisations are working on FAW management solutions including biological control, companion planting, and crop and pest monitoring.

Below are some of the activities currently underway. For questions or feedback, click on the contact’s name to email the researcher or use the 'Questions and Information Request' tab at the top right corner of this page.

Department of Primary Industries, Queensland in 2025/26:

Bowen, Qld:
- Biopesticide trial to manage FAW in sweet corn
  - Trials undertaken by Ian Newton, DPI, Qld

Lockyer Valley/Toowoomba DPI, Qld

Evaluation of the potential for FAW pheromone traps to indicate changes in FAW activity in an adjacent field (November–January).
- Results will be discussed with growers and agronomists at the FAW AWM LV meetings.
Participation in the FAW Roadshow – Trevor Volp attending and presenting at meetings in WA (Carnarvon and Geraldton)
Preparation of practical resources for industry (FAW risk for different regions, field guide to natural enemies of FAW).

Macquarie University

Applied BioSciences, Attraction of predaceous arthropods to fall armyworm damaged plants and identification of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) - implications for biocontrol (2024/25).
- Trials undertaken by Rehan Silva, Vivian Mendez
Applied BioSciences, Towards sustainable management of FAW: Potentials of egg parasitoids (2025/26)

Trials undertaken by Rabia Ali, Bishwo Mainali

Applied BioSciences, Influence of host plants and temperature on biology and pheromone production of FAW (2025/26)

Trials undertaken by Rajendra Regmi, Bishwo Mainali

Growers in the Lockyer Valley, Bowen region, and Wide Bay Burnett can now see daily updates on fall armyworm (FAW) activity in their region, thanks to a groundbreaking project, “FAW National Surveillance,” exploring the use of RapidAIM traps to combat the invasive pest. The project is led and implemented by Bowen Gumlu Growers Association with funding through the VegNET Innovation fund. The project will utilise the National Vegetable Extension Network team of Regional Development Officers to coordinate and install the RapidAim traps and provide support to participating growers. This project aims to provide growers with real-time data on FAW populations, empowering them to make informed decisions about pest management strategies. As the network of RapidAIM traps rolls out, data provided by the internet-connected traps is fed into the National Fall Armyworm Monitoring Information pages.

Bowen RapidAIM Regional Report (Qld)
Wide Bay Burnett RapidAIM Regional Report (Qld)
Lockyer Valley RapidAIM Regional Report (Qld)
Gippsland RapidAIM Regional Report (Vic)
Goulburn Valley RapidAIM Regional Report (Vic)
NSW RapidAIM Regional Report (NSW)

VegNET 3.0 is a vegetable and onion industry extension program nationally coordinated by AUSVEG and funded by Hort Innovation using the vegetable and onion research and development levies and contributions from the Australian Government.

Latest news and updates

Evaluating the potential for vegetative-stage economic thresholds for fall armyworm (FAW) in sweet corn

For the widely grown sweet corn variety Garrison, no economic threshold could be established because plants experience significant yield and harvestability losses even with the shortest exposure to FAW during the vegetative stages. Infestations of one larva per plant for just one week during mid- to late-vegetative stages led to stunting, infertility, and poorly filled cobs. A longer infestation period of 3 weeks resulted in more severe impacts and almost total yield loss.

Fall armyworm’s secret life on capsicum

Research led by Dr Trevor Volp, DPI Queensland, has investigated how Fall Armyworm and two other key caterpillar pests – namely cluster caterpillar (Spodoptera litura) and Helicoverpa armigera – infest capsicum during reproductive crop stages. The research explains what growers have observed with FAW in capsicum crops. Understanding these infestation patterns will help guide monitoring efforts and inform management decisions.

Regional variation in the efficacy of fall armyworm pheromone-based lures in Australia

Macquarie University researchers led by Dr Vivian Mendez have achieved a significant milestone under the Hort Innovation project AS21000 “Effective fall armyworm pheromone blends for improved monitoring and population estimation in Australia”. Recently published in the Australian Grower (Summer 2025/26), researchers report that the performance of four commercially available lures (Chemtica, Pherolure, Tréce and Iscalure), used to monitor fall armyworm in Australia, differed.