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?

FAW area-wide management regions
FAW research activities

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 (2024-2025)

Demonstration / trial sites:
- FAW pupae busting in sweet corn (John Stanley)
- Biopesticides trial to manage FAW in sweet corn (Ian Newton)
FAW monitoring: Pheromone trapping (John Stanley)
Engagement activity, extension and communication: Field walk, Industry meeting (Ramesh Puri)

Lockyer Valley, South East Queensland (2024-2025)

Demonstration / trial sites:
- Banding spray in sweet corn (John Duff)
- Laboratory trial on possible factitious host (Frezzel Tadle)
- Proposed screening of sweet corn varieties against fall armyworm (John Duff / Frezzel Tadle)
FAW monitoring: Pheromone trapping (Frezzel Tadle)
Engagement activity: Farm walk and Industry meeting (Frezzel Tadle)

East Gippsland, Victoria (2024-2025)

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 (2024-25):

Bowen, Qld:
- Initial trial with push-pull intercropping, evaluating contribution to mitigating impacts of FAW in sweet corn (cowpea and sunn hemp as intercrop options). Sep – Dec 2024.

- Assessing attraction of natural enemies to feeding attractants in sweet corn (e.g. Magnet).
- Assessing the impact of FAW on capsicum.
  - Trials undertaken by John Stanley and Melina Miles, DPI, Qld.
Lockyer Valley/Toowoomba DPI, Qld
- Evaluating the potential of intercropping to mitigate impacts of FAW in sweet corn (cowpea and sunn hemp as intercrop options). Modifying approach used in Bowen to increase practicality for growers. Jan – Mar 2025.
  - Trials undertaken by Adam Quade and Melina Miles, DPI, Qld.
- Host preference (moth and larval behaviour) of FAW for capsicum at different stages of fruit maturity. Controlled glasshouse trials.
  - Trials undertaken by Trevor Volp, DPI, Qld

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

Macquarie University

Applied BioSciences, Towards sustainable management of FAW: Potentials of egg parasitoids

Trials undertaken by Rabia Ali, Bishwo Mainali

Applied BioSciences, Influence of host plants and temperature on biology and pheromone production of FAW

Trials undertaken by Rajendra Regmi, Bishwo Mainali

Latest news and updates

National workshop in Tatura unites agronomists to tackle fall armyworm

In response to industry concerns over fall armyworm (FAW), Agriculture Victoria brought together 17 agronomists from Victoria’s grains, dairy fodder and horticulture sectors for a workshop in Tatura on 23 October. The event was supported by the National fall armyworm innovation system for the Australian vegetable industry (VG22006) project, National Vegetable Extension Network (VegNET) and the Maize Association of Australia, and provided up-to-date knowledge on FAW management for local growers

Bowen/Burdekin agronomists and researchers discuss area-wide management of fall armyworm

On 18 September, eighteen agronomists and researchers from the horticulture, grain, and cane industries met at the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries (DAF) facility in Bowen to discuss sustainable area-wide management (AWM) of fall armyworm (FAW) in the Bowen-Burdekin region. The meeting addressed key topics, including biological control, insecticide resistance, management strategies, and FAW monitoring using pheromone traps and real-time data collection tools.

Cross–industry stakeholders meet to talk about fall armyworm in Lockyer Valley

On 12 September 2024, twenty participants, including growers, agronomists, extension workers, and researchers gathered at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries' (DAF) Gatton Research Facility to discuss fall armyworm (FAW) in the Lockyer Valley. The meeting was conducted as part of the project VG22006 National fall armyworm innovation system for the Australian vegetable Industry.

Fall armyworm workshop ramps up awareness across East Gippsland (Victoria)

Over the last two years, fall armyworm (FAW) has become a potential pest in Victoria for current and future climates, with impacts on corn and maize crop production along with risks to many other grains and horticultural crops.

DAF's extension officer for the national fall armyworm project

Our extension officer Dr Ramesh Puri is working on a new national program delivered through Hort Innovation to reduce the impact of fall armyworm on the vegetable industry. Ramesh’s career in agriculture has taken him from Nepal to Japan to Victoria Australia. In early 2022, Ramesh moved to Queensland with his wife and two children and joined our team in Bowen.

Guidance for scouting fall armyworm on sweet corn and maize

In the absence of accurate damage or economic thresholds, the following points should be considered when monitoring fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) on sweet corn and maize crops in Australia. 1. Female moths lay eggs in masses, around 50 to 200 eggs in a mass, on all stages of sweet corn and maize. Monitoring needs to begin as soon as the shoots emerge and continue at least every week until harvest. Eggs can be found on the upper and lower leaf surfaces, on stems and husk.