Status of alien pest fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith) on maize in Northern Karnataka

Abstract

In recent days, the production of maize is threatened by the notorious alien pest, Spodoptera frugiperda. Early incidence of fall armyworm was noticed in Dharwad and was confirmed by molecular studies with GenBank accession number MH822830. Its infestation in Northern Karnataka ranged from 6.00 to 100 percent. Among different locations surveyed, cent percent incidence was observed in Hullur and Guttala while, the lowest pest infestation was observed in Sirsi (6.00%) and Mudgod (10.00%). District wise infestation ranged between 13.50 and 66.50 percent. Highest infestation (66.50%) was in Dharwad district succeeded by Belagavi (59.55%), Bagalkot (54.96%), Gadag (50.30%), Haveri (50.07%) and Vijayapura (28.83%) while the least was in Uttar Kannada district (13.50%). The larval population varied from 8.00 to 140.00 in different maize growing areas of Northern Karnataka. Due to its wide host range, the pest has a potential to spread to other important crops in near future.