Occurrence of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on maize in West Bengal, India and its field life table studies

Abstract

Fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), an important invasive pest to Indian Sub Continent was found to infest rabi maize in Harischandrapur 2 block of Malda district in West Bengal during the end of November 2018. The infestation was then spread to other five major maize growing blocks of the district. Both rabi and summer maize was infested by the pest. However, the damage was more in summer maize as compared to rabi maize recording maximum of 27.56%. Furthermore, the identity of the pest was confirmed based on the morphological characters and also by amplifying cytochrome oxidase gene I (658 bp) and the DNA barcode was generated for the same. Life table studies of the pest showed maximum mortality at the younger instars having an age specific survivorship curve of type-III. Therefore, effective pest management strategies may be planned when pest is in early larval stages.