Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) FAW

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Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)
FAW
Prepared & compilled by :-
Binod Bohara
FWU,FoA B.sc. Agriculture
6th sem Tikapur,kailali Nepal

 Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), FAW, is an insect
native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas.
 FAW larvae can feed on more than 80 plant species, including
maize, rice, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, vegetable crops and
cotton.
 FAW can cause significant yield losses if not well managed.
 It is the larval stage of the insect that causes the damage.
 FAW reproduces at a rate of several generations per year, and
the moth can fly up to 100 km per night.
Prepared & compilled by :- Binod Bohara FWU,FoA B.sc ag. 6th sem tikapur,kailali
Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)
FAW

 FAW was first detected in Central and Western Africa in early 2016
and further reported and confirmed in the whole of mainland
Southern Africa (except Lesotho), in Madagascar and Seychelles
(Island State).
 By 30 January 2018 FAW had been detected and reported in
almost all Sub Saharan African countries, except Djibouti, Eritrea,
and Lesotho.
 It was first detected in Asia in May 2018 from Shivamogga district
in Karnataka, India and started to spread quickly. This pest was
also seen in Bihar of India in rice crops in September- November
of 2018. so the entry of FAW in nepal from india.
 The presence of FAW has been confirmedin Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, nepal,Vietnam, China, Taiwan,
Myanmar, S. Korea, Indonesia and Japan.
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Entry FAW in nepal

FAW in nepal
Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) was recorded for the first
time in Nepal from Nawalpur district (N 27 o 42‟16.67”, E 084o
22‟50.61”) on 9th May 2019.
this pests arrival has been confirmed by the meeting of National
Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) held on August 12, 2019.
This pest has been distributed to Chitwan, Sindhupalchowk,
Sindhuli, Ramechhap, Udayapur, Khotang, Okhaldhunga,
Dolakha, Kavrepalanchowk, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Banke, Rolpa,
Pyuthan, Salyan, Dailekh etc.
Prepared & compilled by :- Binod Bohara FWU,FoA B.sc ag. 6th sem tikapur,kailali 4

Insect biology
Taxonomic tree:
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Metazoa
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Uniramia
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Spodoptera
Species: frugiperda
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Host range:-
• FAW is a polyphagous pest.
• FAW larvae can feed 353 different plant species .
However, this pest gives high preference to maize and
other Poaceae family.
• In the context of Nepal, FAW has been reported in
Maize and Sorghum so far.
• Major hosts: Maize, Sorghum, Sugarcane
• Alternate hosts: Rice, cabbage, beet, groundnut,
soybean, onion, cotton, pasture grasses, millets, tomato
and potato.
Prepared & compilled by :- Binod Bohara FWU,FoA
B.sc ag. 6th sem tikapur,kailali
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Mode of Dispersal & why threat to
crops
 Adults typically use their natural pre-oviposition period of 3-4
days to migrate over 500 km before oviposition.
 FAW affected plants and plant parts inside the same location;
however, it can be transferred from green cobs also.
 This insect is polyphagous in nature therefore it can migrate
one crop field to another field for its survival.
 The yield losses from FAW in Africa have been reported
ranging from 21 to 53% in maize .
 Besides the capacity to migrate over long distances during its
life span, the fecundity of this pest is high (more than 1000
eggs/moth); thus, there can be multiple pest generations per
cropping season or year.
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Life cycle and field identification
 Fresh eggs are creamy white with hairs but become darker or
greyish with. They lay 100-200 eggs underside of the leaves near
to the base of the plant.
 The incubation period of an egg is 2-3 days whereas larval stage
is completed in 14-21 days.
 The larva does have six instars. The pupal stage is found
underground, mostly 2-8 cm beneath the soil, and the cocoons
are made from the soil and silk, which is reddish-brown in color.
Pupal period ranges from 6-8 days.
 The adult is greyish brown in color with capacity of having long
flight. They live for 7-9 days.
 The duration of life cycle can vary according to different seasons
i.e. 30 days during the summer, 60 days in the spring and
autumn, 80 to 90 days during the winter.
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Life cycle and field identification
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Egg
 FAW eggs are normally whitish/cream when fresh and become
dark/grey when about to hatch.
 Eggs are covered by light brown wool /like material imparting a
moldy appearance.
 The total eggs are dome shaped.
 In general, 100-200 eggs are laid on the underside of the leaves
typically near the base of the plant, close to the junction of the leaf
and the stem.
 One mature female can produce about 1500 to 2000 eggs during her
lifetime.
 The eggs are sometimes deposited in layers, but most eggs are
spread over a single layer attached to foliage.
 They hatch within 2-3 days during the warm summer months in
laboratory conditions.
Prepared & compilled by :- Binod Bohara FWU,FoA B.sc ag. 6th sem tikapur,kailali 11

Larvae/Caterpillar
• The FAW has six larval instars.
• The first instar larvae are whitish in color which later changes into
greenish color with black head.
• Grown up larvae measure 30-35 mm long and color varies from
brown, gray, yellowish, pinkish to greenish with granulated texture
all over the body.
• The total larval period varies from 14 to 21 days according to
availability of food & temperature.
• Inverted 'Y' shaped whitish marking is present in the head.
• The best identifying feature of the FAW is a set of four large
spots (pinacula) that form a square on the upper surface of the 8th
segment of its body.
• Four smaller dorsal spots in Trapezoid shaped from 1-7th segment
& inverted trapezoid shaped in 9th segment.
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The grown up larvae have three creamy yellow stripes on dorsal
surface which run in parallel manner from thorax to last
abdominal segment. Larvae tend to hide themselves during the
sunny day.
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• The FAW normally pupates in the soil at a depth 2 to 8 cm.
• The larva constructs a loose cocoon by tying together
particles of soil with silk.
• If the soil is too hard, larvae may web together leaf debris and
other material to form a cocoon on the soil surface.
• The pupa is reddish brown in color ,measuring 14 to 18 mm in
length and about 4.5 mm in width. Duration
• of the pupal stage is 6-8 days at laboratory conditions in
summer, but may vary according to the climatic conditions.
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pupa

 Adult FAW moths have a wingspan of 32 to 40 mm.
 Hind wings in both male and female are white with black line on
inner margins.
 Adult male moth of the insect has distinct markings on the
forewings whereas marking on female forewings are not distinct.
 In the male moth, the forewing generally is shaded gray and
brown, with triangular white spots at the tip.
 Brown and oval shaped spot is present at the center of forewings.
 The forewings of females are less distinctly marked, ranging
from a uniform grayish brown to a fine mottling of gray and
brown.
 Adults are nocturnal, and are most active during warm, humid
evenings. Duration of adult life, as observed in the laboratory
condition in Nepal is 5-7 days.
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Adult/Moth

Hind wings in both male and female are white with black line on
inner margins.
Adult male moth of the insect has distinct markings on the
forewings whereas marking on female forewings are not distinct.
In the male moth, the forewing
generally is shaded gray and brown,
with triangular white spots at the
tip.
Brown and oval shaped spot is
present at the center of forewings.
 The forewings of females are
less distinctly marked, ranging
from a uniform grayish brown
to a fine mottling of gray and
brown.
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Adult Female moth FAW
Adult male moth FAW

Feeding behavior and damage:
 The larvae feed and damage the entire plant including leaves,
whorls, tassels, silk and ears.
 Early (1st -2 nd) instars feed by scrapping on the leaf surface
leaving the epidermis intact which results in the appearance of
elongated papery windows of different size .They also bore
into the whorl resulting into small pin holes in the leaves.
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• Larvae of 3rd-4th instars voraciously feed on the foliage
showing ragged and elongated holes on the plant and the size
of the holes increases with the growth of the larvae.
• After the larva enters the 5th instar, it feeds voraciously,
loosing large area of leaves. 6th Instar larvae extensively
defoliate the leaves. Severe feeding gives the appearance of
maize that has been damaged by hail After feeding, the larvae
leave behind large amounts of moist saw dust like frass near
the whorl and upper leaves
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In the reproductive stage of maize
• In the reproductive stage,tassel and ear are the vulnerable
parts.
• Tassel damage is most common which may not lead to
economic damage but
• The FAW larvae boring into the maize ear and eating the
developing kernels can directly affect the yield, besides
causing other issues such as mycotoxin contamination, etc.
resulting in unmarketable ears/grains .
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Integrated Pest Management
Options for FAW
Seeds and Varieties
 Use quality seed and FAW resistant varieties (if available).
 Seed treatment with Imidachlorpid 48% FS @ 4 ml per kg
seed to offer plant protection up to 2-3 weeks after
germination.
 It will be useful to select maize varieties with tight husk cover
(that is husk that fully covers the ear)
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Cultural Management Practices
 Avoid late and staggered planting. Early planting often helps to
escape the peak migration and incidence of FAW adults.
 Use recommended dose of manures and fertilizers.
 Maintain adequate soil moisture for producing vigorous and
healthy plants which can withstand pest infestations and damage.
 Ploughing the field to a depth of 10 cm helps to expose FAW
pupae to sunshine and natural enemies.Allow 2-3 days after
ploughing to get this effect.
 Maintain plant diversity at the field level with a provision of
sheltering and pollen resourceful flowering plants around for
increasing the presence of natural enemies
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 Adopt Push-Pull technology incorporating Desmodium grass
and other legume crops such as pigeon pea, beans, groundnuts
as inter-crops for “push”, and border crop of Napier grass for
“pull” the FAW.
 Destroy crop residues after harvest for destroying sheltering
eggs, larvae and pupae of FAW.
 Practice crop rotation with alternate crops to minimize the
attack of FAW.
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The Push-pull technology
• Push-pull is a habitat management strategy developed and
implemented to manage pests such as stem borers,FAW, striga
weed and address soil degradation, which are major constraints in
maize production. The technology entails/involve in using a
repellent intercrop (Desmodium as a “push”) and an attractive
trap plant (Napier/Brachiaria grass as a “pull”).
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The Push-pull technology
The Napier grass planted around the maize farm:-
 attracts stem borers and FAW to lay eggs on it ;
 but it does not allow larvae to develop on it due to poor nutrition;
so very few larvae survive.
At the same time, Desmodium, planted as an intercrop :-
 emits volatiles that repels stem borers or FAW, and
 secretes root exudates that induces premature germination of striga
seeds and kills the germinating striga; so this depletes seed banks
of striga in maize farms over time;
 covers the ground surface between maize, thus smothering weeds
enriches the soil with nitrogen, preserves soil moisture and
protects the soil from erosion.
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Mechanical Control & local controls
 Hand picking and crushing of FAW egg masses and
young larvae (if found in the field) or immerse them
into soap water.
 Using ash, sand, sawdust or dirt into whorls to control
faw larvae. Ash, sand and sawdust may desiccate
young larvae.
 Use of local botanicals (neem, hot pepper, local
plants)
 Picking larvae to feed them to chicks for poultry
production.
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Biological Control
 Natural enemies in field should be conserved with a
provision of sheltering and pollen resourceful flowering
plants around.
 Different species of naturally-occurring bio-control
agents against FAW have been identified in FAW-
endemic countries in Africa and Asia, including Nepal.
These can help to suppress FAW (Prasanna et al.
2018). Such biological control agents include
Prepared & compilled by :- Binod Bohara
FWU,FoA B.sc ag. 6th sem tikapur,kailali
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Predators:
 Naturally occurring predators play an important role in the
suppression of FAW in the field.Predatory insects and arachnids
that can act upon FAW include:-
 Earwigs (dermaptera: forficulidae, carcinophoridae)
 Ladybird beetles (coleoptera: coccinellidae)
 Ground beetles (coleoptera: carabidae)
 Assassin and flower bugs (hemiptera: reduviidae, pentatomidae,
geocoridae, nabidae, anthocoridae), eusocial, solitary and other
 Predatory wasps (hymenoptera: vespoidea), spiders (arachnida:
araneae),
 Ants (hymenoptera: formicidae)
 A birds and bats prey upon FAW.
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Parasitoids:
 Many species of hymenopteran and dipteran parasitoids attack on
the different stages of FAW. These may include
 Telenomus remus Nixon (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae),
 Chelonus insularis Cresson (Hymenoptera: Braconidae),
 Cotesia marginiventris Cresson (Hymenoptera: Braconidae),
 Trichogramma spp. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae),
 Fly parasitoids: Archytas, Winthemia and Lespesia
(Diptera: Tachinidae).
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Parasitoids:
Telenomus remus Nixon
(Hymenoptera: Platygastridae)
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Chelonus insularis Cresson
(Hymenoptera: Braconidae

Entomopathogens
 Fall Armyworm is naturally affected by several different types of
pathogens:
 Viruses, in particular Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus (NPVs) such as
the Spodoptera Frugiperda Multicapsid Nucleopolyhedrovirus
(SfMNPV)
 Fungi, in particular
Metarhizium anisopliaee - (2 g/liter)
Metarhizium rileyi
Beauveria bassiana
 Bacteria, such as the Bacillus thuringiensis (2-3 g/liter)
 Nematodes (Heterorhabditis, Steinernema).
 Protozoa
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Botanicals and Indigenous Management Options
 Use of local botanicals (neem, hot pepper, titepati, Timur and other
plant extracts) act as antifeedant and repellant against FAW.
 Sugary sprays, oil, „fish soup‟ or other materials can also be used to
attract ants and wasps to the maize plants.
 Use of botanical pesticides: Neem based insecticides are effective
against the FAW larvae up to the 3rd instar.
 Use Azadirachtin 1500 ppm @ 5 ml per liter of water at the time of
early stage of damages. Quality control of botanical pesticides is
important to achieve desired results.
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Use of Synthetic Chemical pesticides
 Recommended Pesticides : Some of the recommended chemical
pesticides in Nepal and their doses are as follows:
 Spinetoram 11.7 SC (Delegate) @ 0.5 ml/liter of water
 Chlorantraniliprole 18.5% SC @ 0.4 ml/liter of water
 Spinosad 45%SC @ 0.3 ml/liter of water
 Emamectin benzoate 5% SG @ 0.4 g/liter of water
Use an alternate group of pesticide in the next spray to avoid
development of pest resistance.
Avoid the use of highly hazardous or toxic pesticides although these
may be cheaper in the market.
Do not use pesticide indiscriminately
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Use of Synthetic Chemical pesticides
 When to apply pesticides: Use when the pest infestation reaches
the action threshold level, there may be a need for pesticide
application.
 Time of pesticide application: It is effective against FAW, to use
pesticides early in the morning from 6:00- 10:00am or late
afternoon 4:00-7:00pm, if weather conditions are favorable for
spraying because FAW actively feeds at night or in early morning.
Avoid spraying when it is windy or if rain is imminent
37

The main differences between stem borer
infestation and FAW infestation are:
• The big holes left by the FAW. Generally, “big holes” as observed
for FAW are not present in stem borers attacks (for both young and
old larvae)
• The stem borer damage is characterized by a typical dead heart
which is easy to see when the maize is young.
• When stem borers larvae are getting old, they are less present in
the whorl contrary to FAW; but they can be found in the maize
stem, leaving holes in the stems with visible frass.
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The main differences between stem borer infestation and FAW infestation are:
S.
N
Damage on the maize plants due to FAW Damage on the maize plants due
to Lepidoptera stem borers
1 Leaves with windowing and shot holes
caused by early instars of FAW;
Typical damage on the leaves
left by young caterpillars when
they feed on the leaf surfaces
2 Extensive defoliation of leaves with fresh
frass in the whorl, note the absence of
dead heart.
Hole left by the caterpillars
when they are getting older and
start boring the maize stem to
feed inside the plant’s stems
3 Defoliation by FAW larvae in the whorl. Deadheart caused by the
feeding activity of stem borer
caterpillars into the
maize stems of young maize
plants.
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40

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Surveillance Protocol for Fall Armyworm for Maize in Nepal
• Surveillance is an official procedure conducted over a defined
period of time to determine the characteristics of a pest
population or to determine which pest species occur in an area
(ISPM No. 5).
purposes of this surveillance are :
• To early detect and manage FAW in a new area
• To determine pest status in an area and measuring changes in
the characteristics of pest population or pest incidence.
• To compile the pest distribution records and reporting the
occurrence.
• To compile the host lists in Nepal.
• To design and implement pest management tactics.
• To raise awareness about pests with growers and the wider
community.
• To study changing pest status.
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REFRENCES
 PQPMC.2019. Protocol for Integrated Pest Management of Fall
Armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda) in Nepal.
 PQPMC.2019. Surveillance Protocol for Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera
frugiperda for Maize in Nepal.
 PQPMC. 2019. Invasive Alien Species: An emerging threat to agriculture
and biodiversity in Nepal. Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management
Centre, Hariharbhawan, Lalitpur.
 FAO. 2018. Integrated management of the Fall Armyworm in the maize. A
Guide for Farmer Field Schools in Africa. Food and Agriculture (FOA)
Organization of the United Nations.
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/integrated-management-fall-Armyworm-
maize-guide-farmer-fieldschools-africa. Accessed on 27 Aug 2019.
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tyf kz'kG5L ljsf; dGqfno j[mlif ljefu xl/x/ejg, nlntk'/. @)&^
 PQPMC (2019) . मकै बालीमा लाग्ने अमेररकन फौजिजकरा र यसको व्यवस्थापन. Fact Sheet. प्लान्ट क्वारेजन्टन एवं
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Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) FAW

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