LOCUST hatchings expected in western New South Wales have not yet hit full swing, but warming temperatures mean it is likely to happen within a couple of weeks.
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Meanwhile, Victoria is bracing itself for an explosion of hatchlings over the next month.
A rough survey of Mallee growers at a locust information session at last week’s Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) field day found that over 90pc of growers had noted eggs being laid on their property.
And there are reports of massive amounts of eggs at one of Victoria’s largest freehold properties, Ned’s Corner, west of Mildura.
Managing chemical and mechanical resources is likely to be an issue.
Last week, at the BCG event, Stuart Holland, of the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI) urged growers to assist local councils with spray roadsides if possible, saying it would be difficult to find both contractors and equipment to conduct spraying along the countless thousands of kilometres of rural roads without working closely with farmers.
There is also concern about the supply of the only organic locust control, Green Guard.
Manufacturer of the product, Becker Underwood, has ramped up production by five times to prepare for the coming plague, but issues with supplies coming out of South Africa may mean the product is hard to get.
Becker Underwood Australia’s managing director Richard Waterworth said there was a 35-day turnaround in production and urged landholders to place orders immediately.
“We’ve been urging people to get their orders in since May,” he said.
Green Guard is expected to be a vital cog in control measures, due to the buffer zones required around water ways and residences which preclude the use of other controls in many areas.
Meanwhile, NSW farmer John Ridley, Burcher, in the state’s Central West, gave some hope for growers at the Birchip meeting.
He said locust damage could be minimised provided effective action was taken.
“We’ve faced plagues before and we’ve managed to get through them; the control products are very effective if used properly,” he said.
Looking forward to any potential issues next autumn, BCG research has found fledgling crops eaten by locusts need to be replanted.
“The trial crops that were eaten out did not come back as we had hoped,” BCG’s Simon Craig said.
“There was some thought they would bounce back, similar to a grazed cereal, but it hasn’t been the case.
“We aren’t exactly sure what the difference in being eaten by livestock or by locusts is, obviously the locust ate the crop off earlier, which we think is a factor, and also they eat the crop all the way down to the ground.
“Our advice now would be to re-sow as soon as the locust threat has passed, even though this probably pushes you past the optimum sowing window, rather than hoping for the crop to catch up.”
