Fall army worm: Current status and management in India

Abstract

Maize is a traditional crop that is generally cultivated as a source of food, feed and fodder which is cultivated as a single crop during summer season or relayed with millet in the late season. Maize, the queen of cereals was reported to be infested by a range of pests, out of which the fall army worm, Spodoptera frugiperda is the recent one reported in India. Due to its migratory behaviour, it is capable of damaging to a serious extent. It causes a damage up to 30 per cent yield reduction in maize crop in 10 states of India. Proper identification of the pest, adoption of IPM practices in a community-based approach is the major component of proper management. Integrated pest management practices include monitoring, scouting, cultural, mechanical, physical control and finally curative stage specific chemical control methods. Apart from this, it is important to introduce, validate, and deploy low-cost, environmentally safer and effective technological interventions (like single and pyramided-gene Bt maize) over the short, medium and long-term for sustainable management of FAW.