Evaluation of integrated pest management module against fall army worm, Spodoptera frugiperda in maize

Abstract

Maize recognized as the queen of cereals for its great potential and capacity to generate greater biological yields in a shorter amount of time infested by new invasive pest, fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, a devastating polyphagous pest which feeds on more than 360 plant species causing substantial yield losses in economically important crops such as maize, soybean, beans and cotton etc. Adoption of integrated pest management tactics is therefore a potential solution that is crucial. A twoyear study was conducted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kalyandurg, Anantapur at farmers’ fields during the kharif season (June-September) of 2020-21 and 2021-22 following IPM strategy following clean cultivation, pheromone traps @ 8-10/ acre, bird perches @10/acre, application of Azadiractin 1500ppm, whorl application of Emamectin benzoate @ 0.5g/l and Metarrhizium anisopliae @ 5g/l of water. Observations were noted at weekly intervals from 15 to 50 DAS from 20 plants about no of larvae and no of plants damaged. Using data from 10 IPM and FP fields, the cost-benefit ratio, plant damage, and larval incidence were observed to assess the impact of the modules and the results shows that less larval incidence was found in IPM fields (9.10% and 6.72%) with pooled mean of 7.91% compared to fields of FP (17.84% and 13.56%) with a pooled mean of 15.7% 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. Damage incidence was found lower in IPM fields (18.0% and 12.0%) with a mean of 15.0% as compared to FP fields (37.0% and 28.0%) with a mean of 32.5% during 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. The two years pooled data reveals that implementing IPM increased yield by 9.40% when compared to FP, whereas the benefit-cost ratios for FP and IPM were 2.0 and 2.4, respectively.