Nothing to fear from fall armyworm

AOA Agri-Chemical Permits Co-ordinator Peter McFarlane said the AOA has recently contacted Hort Innovation with a request to pursue a label variation with the registrant Adama, to enable the use of Trivor® for fruit fly suppression. We’ll update in Friday Olive Extracts as soon as there’s any news.

Riverland outbreak impacts olive processing

McFarlane reported that olive growers in SA’s Riverland region were also caught up in the recent Q-fly outbreak, and were unable to send their harvested olives out of the yellow suspension zone into the green zone for processing.

“While olives are not considered a major host of fruit fly (Q or Med), it is a potential host under high pest pressure,” he said.

“So quarantine authorities are treating olives as a Q-Fly host crop, which means there are restrictions in place of movement of olives out of the red and yellow zones. These restrictions are effective to 24 November 2021, so will cover the entire 2021 harvest season.

… as does Med-fly in Adelaide

“A number of olive producers in greater Adelaide have been caught up in the current outbreak of Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Med-fly), Ceratitis capitate, and have also been unable to send their harvested olives out of the yellow suspension zone into the green zone for processing.”

More proof that property signage is a must. Fruit from within SA’s Riverland yellow zone was delivered for processing at Prema Bros in the green zone via a movement permit and prescribed handling practices.

Stop press: industry advocacy saves the day The good news is - for South Australian growers at least - that when Olives SA and the AOA were informed of the movement restrictions, they went into action on behalf of the growers. They provided relevant information around the issue to the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) and, after a ton of liaison and advocacy, PIRSA agreed to issue permits for the movement of olives between zones specifically for the purpose of immediate processing, and with strict prescribed handling practices. It was a great outcome for the growers, and a credit to the team which made it happen: the AOA’s Peter McFarlane and CEO Michael Southan, and Olives SA board member Kent Hallett. This is another great example of the behind-the-scenes efforts of both state and national industry organisations to support growers, and another reason why you really should be a member of both!

There’s been a lot of discussion about fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in recent months, with Hort Innovation issuing an emergency alert for the invasive exotic pest. They are also working with the relevant authorities to prepare and protect the horticulture sector against any potential spread.

It’s a nasty new critter on the Australian horticultural pest scene and has some growers understandably nervous, so we got OliveCare® Code of Best Practice Administrator Peter McFarlane to confirm the situation around olives. Luckily, it’s good news.

“While it’s a devastating crop pest, fall armyworm (FAW) is of little or no relevance to olive producers,” he said.

“It has a short life cycle (30-90 days) and the females lay thousands of eggs, so it very rapidly infests maize and sweet corn crops, causing massive damage. It’s also difficult to control, and chemical spray programs must be implemented according to strict IPDM principles to be effective.

“It therefore has major implications for global food supply in the corn belt of USA, as well as South America, Africa and the Asia Pacific region, including Australia.

“However, while FAW has been observed in Australian vegetable production areas through NT, WA and QLD, including down the East and West Coasts, it is essentially a tropical/sub-tropical pest and can’t tolerate cold conditions. It is therefore expected to migrate to all Australian production areas but will die out each winter and retreat to the warmer northern climes.

“And while FAW is polyphagous (eats a wide variety of plants - 350 recorded to date) its preference is to eat maize and sweet corn, and it appears to only eat other crops when maize and corn are not present or out of season.

“So the good news is that the above observations confirm that fall armyworm is of little or no relevance to the Australian olive industry.”

More information: Peter McFarlane, AOA OliveCare® Code of Best Practice Administrator - M: 0418 839 836; E: olivecare@australianolives.com.au