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The FAW season will probably start to become more prevalent from now onwards – meaning that more infestation is more likely. It is critical that scouting efforts is increased, control started as soon as possible and on smaller instar larvae.
This pest will continue with its lifecycle as long as there is adequate food available and it is not too cold. This means specimens from several generations may be present in one maize field and different instar larvae may be feeding on the same crop with new eggs on leaves. It also suggests that damage will only be very prevalent after the fourth instar larval stage was reached. But may become severe if there are subsequent fourth instar larvae developing on the same plant.
It is critical that summer grain producers send through the weekly and/or monthly reports indicating what pesticides are used as well as indicate any success rate. There are reports of farmers struggling to control the pest but knowledge of whether they used registered pesticides correctly and/or the instar of the larvae, is unfortunately unknown. Remember if the larvae are bigger than a 10c coin, pesticides may not be effective.