Managing Fall Armyworm

A guide to low cost pest management approaches.  CIFOR-ICRAF

Fall armyworm (FAW), scientific name Spodoptera frugiperda Smith, is an invasive pest that first arrived in sub-Saharan Africa in 2016. It is a pest of maize and other cereals, although it can eat many plants, and when it first arrived, fearful of the damage it might wreak, regional governments released millions of USD to purchase and distribute pesticides to farmers. Unfortunately, many of these chemicals were not effective. In addition, there are serious risks to human health and environment from the misuse of chemical pesticides.

The study summarized quick and effective IPM strategies as follows:

1. Prevention
   1. Avoid late planting
   2. Practice good soil management, preferably with organic amendments
   3. Intercrop with legume crops and use push-pull strategies (using repellent ‘push’ plants and trap ‘pull’ plants)
   4. Trap adult Fall Armyworm moths
   5. Biological control – protect natural enemies
   6. Cultural methods – picking + crushing; sand + ash; fish soup; detergent
   7. Fall Armyworm resistant/tolerant varieties
   8. Pesticide seed coatings
2. Monitoring
   1. Scouting of fields to assess infestation and damage
   2. Thresholds – Use of damage levels to assess need for appropriate action
3. Use pesticides only as a last resort
   1. Biopesticides
   2. Pesticides