Fall armyworm ancestry traced worldwide as it destroys crops in worst incursion to date

Australian researchers are tracking a notorious crop-destroying pest around the world as it spreads from continent to continent. Like other continents, FAW reached Australia's shores on multiple fronts when it arrived in 2020, Dr Tek Tay said. Very hungry caterpillar Central Queensland sorghum grower Rhys Daniels said he had seen FAW in crops for four years, but this was the first time his farm was badly impacted. Determining the path the different FAW populations had taken not only identified weaknesses in global biosecurity efforts, Dr Tek Tay said it gave growers tools to treat the pest by understanding the genetics of the one they were dealing with. "That will be a resource that we can build to understand future introductions of potentially new populations coming to Australia," Dr Tek Tay said.