Wheat Head Armyworm a Sporadic, But Insidious Pest

Nov 28, 2022

The wheat head armyworm are a random threat and hard to find in Alberta fields.

An army could be invading your field at this very moment, and you might not even know it.

The wheat head armyworm is a sporadic pest that feeds on cereal grains such as wheat and barley here in Alberta and the rest of the Prairies. While its usually a minor nuisance, it can occasionally cause significant damage to the kernels of a cereal crop which can result in the crop being downgraded when it’s screened at an elevator. In fact, one wheat head armyworm can wipe out the equivalent of an entire head of wheat in a single day.

Part of the challenge for farmers when it comes to dealing with wheat head armyworms is that they can be extremely difficult to spot in a field, says Tyler Wist, a research scientist in field crop entomology for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

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Video: Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Pairwise has built its business around an idea that runs counter to how many companies approach innovation: make transformative technology easier to access.

In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies