Developing beneficial nematode-based biocontrol solutions to fall armyworm in Africa
The fall armyworm is a major pest devastating more than 80 crops. However, it favours maize where it can cut yields by up to 90%. The pest has invaded Africa, Australia and Asia, and recently arrived in Europe. Existing pest management efforts against the maize pest include insecticides. But an overreliance on these has led to prolific increases in insecticide applications in maize cultivation in Africa, and detrimental health and environmental threats. The ineffective existing control method has highlighted the need for more effective, safer and more sustainable control practices. An expert team and CABI are developing practical, safe and effective techniques of entomopathogenic nematodes as biological control agents against armyworm caterpillars to help mitigate the impacts of fall armyworm on food security in Africa.
Invasiveness, biology, ecology, and management of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda
The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith, 1797), is…