Seasonal incidence of maize fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Noctuidae; Lepidoptera) in Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Maize, Zea mays L (Family: Poaceae), is the most adaptable crop, grown in varied agro-climatic regions globally, next to wheat and rice, except Antarctica. The Fall Armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), an invasive pest which is highly migratory and economically destructive, is native of tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. Being polyphagous, it feeds on maize, rice, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, vegetable crops and cotton but can feed on more than 80 additional species of crops. A study on seasonal incidence of fall armyworm in both Kharif and Rabi season in farmers field at four blocks viz., Perambalur, Veppanthattai, Alathur and Veppur block of Perambalur district was taken during July 2019 to January 2020 at fortnight intervals. S. frugiperda incidence was minimum during second fortnight of October, 2019 (10%) and maximum incidence was recorded in first fortnight of November, 2019 (72%). During Kharif and Rabi, occurrence of S. frugiperda in terms of larval population showed significant positive correlation with the maximum temperatures (r=0.7205) and negative correlation and significant relationship with relative humidity (r= -0.6739) and rainfall (r= -0.8293) in Perambalur district.