Last week, the AUSVEG Extension and Engagement team visited growers in the North and Far North of Queensland to discuss various vegetable crop pest and diseases.

As part of the tour, the team visited the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries’ research facility in Bowen, to inspect the various trials in corn crops infested with Fall armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda).

A management guide FAW has been developed by AUSVEG, with assistance from the DAF, and is now available online.

The team met with 10 growers from Bowen, Ayr and Mareeba to hear about current issues on-farm, including pricing and input costs.

They also discussed pest and disease issues, including raising awareness about the Vegetable, Serpentine and American serpentine leafminers yet to hit the region.

AUSVEG’s Zarmeen Hassan and DAF researcher Siva Subramaniam inspecting fall armyworm.