Locust plague may threaten Australia 09/10 wheat crop

Published: 13 Apr 2010 23:15:07 PST

SYDNEY, April 14 - A locust plague could threaten Australia's wheat crop ahead of its October harvest, government officials warned on Wednesday.

Adult locusts are heading south from the tropical state of Queensland, to more southern grain growing regions after high precipitation in recent months, endangering crops in the world's fourth largest wheat exporter.

"There has been rapid movement as they have been making their way south from the far north, south-east Queensland and north-western New South Wales," John Badgery, a biosecurity manager at South Australia state said in a statement.

Tens of millions of dollars in damage could be done to crops and pastures, threatening forecasts for an above-average wheat crop of around 22.5 million tonnes on good pre-planting rain.

The last significant locust plague in Australia was in 2004, but farmers managed to combat it by destroying hatchings and harvest a 21.9 million wheat crop.

Badgery predicted significant spring hatchings from late August in Queensland through to early October in Victoria state because of the size of the current locust population.

New South Wales locust commissioner Ross Burton also advised farmers on Wednesday to prepare for an explosion of plague locust hatchings in spring.

Burton said locust swarms were now roaming the state's inland, devouring emerging winter crops that had already been planted and laying eggs on bare country such as fallow paddocks being prepared for crops.

Crop forecasters had been optimistic that the country would produced an above average wheat crop for the third straight year, even as some predict that many farmers will switch to other crops such as canola because of low wheat prices.

The Australian wheat crop has averaged 18.3 million tonnes over the five years to 2009/10, hurt by drought which cut the harvest to as little as 10.6 million tonnes in 2006/07.