A grazier in the Toowoomba region said he's devastated to have lost his entire oats crop to fall armyworm in what is believed to be the first instance of the invasive pest attacking the cereal variety in the state.
Southbrook grazier Dean Messingham, 41, said his 20 hectare healthy oats crop planted on leased land around 15 minutes drive from his cattle property had been completely exterminated by FAW in a 72 hour period.
"This came out of nowhere, I'd never heard of FAW in oats," he said.
"On Monday last week (March 18) I saw the oats and the crop was fine, then on Thursday I had a call saying 'you'd better get down here something's happened' and when I arrived I noticed all these grubs crawling all over the place.
"I immediately contacted our agronomist Patrick Jones and he came straight out and diagnosed it as FAW."
Mr Messingham said he was shocked and upset the oats which had been between 10 cm to 15cm high on land where he'd successfully grown them and the occasional barley crop for the past four years, was now bare earth.
"I was not aware of the damage and how widespread FAW could be, my crop was effectively razed, it looked like I just ploughed it," he said.
"At the moment there's no spray or insecticide registered to treat FAW on oats so I am not sure what to do."
Mr Messingham said Mr Jones immediately contacted Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries principal entomologist Dr Melina Miles who also visited the property.
Looking over the bare soil, Mr Messingham said he is waiting for more detailed advice on how to prevent the FAW impact from occurring again.
"It's hard to be optimistic about FAW, there's lots of ups and down in farming and this is just one more thing," he said.
"From what I gather FAW will be killed by the first frost so we hope we can replant in May which will coast $2500 in seed alone."
Mr Messignham said the crop loss could impact their stock breeding program.
"This puts us a good three months behind as we usually put embryos in late May as it's our best chance for them to stick," he said.
"It's tough as cattle milk better on oats then dry grass country but at this stage we have had a reasonably good season so we hope they are not affected too much."
Mr Messingham said it would cost around $2500 in seed alone to replant.
"We will run our program through there and put more supplements out whether a dry lick or a liquid.
"Now I am waiting on advice from our agronomist Patrick and DPI on the best way forward."
Agronomist Patrick Jones said he and Felton Produce were currently working with DPI on the FAW issue in the Westbrook, Southbrook, Felton and Pittsworth areas.
"At Dean's place what we worked out with DPI modelling there was an egg lay there between March 10 and 12 on the crop and in the grass surrounds," Mr Jones said.
"The FAW have hatched in the grass and marched up the paddock and eaten the four to six leaf crop to the ground.
"They have also laid in the oats as well, I counted on one hand the plants that are left and it looked like a ploughed paddock."
Mr Jones said the pasture where the FAW hatched included couch, paspalum and other native grasses.
He said the spread of the pest was being assisted by being transported in crops cut for hay.
"It's an area-wide problem and can go further and could cause damage on a wider scale," he said.
"There are three farms in a 5km circuit where I am looking at forage sorghum cut for hay and the amount of FAW in the regrowth sorghum is phenomenal.
"It's carrying a high population of FAW and has not been dealt with, so its is contributing to the problem not only in oats and pasture but in freshly cut forage sorghum too.
"We are not sure what they transition on but we noticed none out on the western Downs the past two years but the FAW started early in corn and millet in the Lockyer Valley."
Mr Jones said the FAW was highly adaptable in all kinds of weather.
"FAW have been reported out at Dalby on the Chinchilla side in sorghum and corn crops," he said.
"While they are not flowing onto late-cut sorghum at the moment, the population we are finding in surrounding grass is quite high."
Mr Jones said the fact FAW are nocturnal, "makes numbers very difficult to put a figure on."
"These insects are timid to light and prefer to come out at nighttime," he said.
"These FAW were taking refuge in the earth and you could see where they went in and out of holes in the wet soil."
He said another complexity of the FAW management was compounded by the the fact the insects located on bare soil and and surrounding grass had not pupated yet.
"So if we replant will they then march in and if so, do we need to also spray all the grass surrounding the crops," Mr Jones said.
"Some of the insecticides are contact, some are stomach poisons but when the FAW emerge at night there no food source so it makes it difficult for the latter to work and some contact poisons only work on smaller larvae.
"Even with a full tillage replant it will not control all the insects out in the bare dirt."
Mr Jones said the FAW infestation had likely been carried from the start of the season from plants in the warmer parts of the Lockyer Valley where it infested early plantings of corn and millet before they "migrated up the hill and populations increased."
According to Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries principal entomologist Dr Melina Miles, the invasive pest has maintained its grip across the state.
Dr Miles inspected Mr Messingham's property with Mr Jones and said the pest was obviously highly adaptable.
"The fact FAW is attacking early oats and they had done a lot of damage puts us on high alert for other cereal crops," she said.
"We don't know how long it will be before other cereals will be impacted."
Dr Miles said during the inspection she and Mr Jones found FAW in the soil which would go some way to protesting them when the mercury dropped.
"What would bring FAW to a full halt is really cool conditions," Dr Miles said.
"But it would have to be an extended period of cold conditions to slow them down.
"In crops they are buffeted a bit from cool temperatures and we saw them in the ground not exposed to ambient temperatures, they are quite well adapted."
Dr Miles said at this stage it is critical growers checked their grain crops for the pest.
"We don't know how long it will persist or potentially will impact cereals," she said.
'We want people to be aware and checking any oats, wheat or barley that they plant in April.
"Perhaps also consider planting something other than oats which is less susceptible, perhaps a brassica or a legume."
Dr Miles said the department still had sweet corn, maize and sorghum trials going in the Lockyer Valley at the research farm.
"On April 2 I had three more calls from growers and agronomists in the th Pittsworth and Clifton areas about about FAW in oats," she said.
"We urge people with early oats to check and talk with their agronomist."
Got a news tip? Contact Alison Paterson on 0437 861 082.
