The Fall Armyworm Damage and Management in Cotton and Cereals

Abstract

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda is a polyphagous lepidopteran pest that affects crops of different families. The crops range from vegetables, fibre crops such as cotton as well as cereal crops that include maize, sorghum, millet and wheat. The pest also feeds on weeds and some grass species such as ryegrass and Bermuda grass. In cotton, fall armyworm feeds on squares and blooms as well as on bolls. Once it invades a field crop, especially maize, the pest can cause significant crop damage which will ultimately lead to very high yield losses of up to 70 percent if poorly controlled or if not controlled at all. It is a pest of global importance as it is native to the Americas and has spread to other continents such as Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. In sub-Saharan Africa, the worst affected countries are South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. It has a four-stage life cycle comprising of adult, eggs, larvae and pupae. The larvae is the most dangerous stage as it is the one where all crop damage is seen. Furthermore, there are six instar levels of the larva with damage commencing on the second instar. In order to combat its effect on crop production, the fall armyworm control measures range from cultural methods (crop rotation, deep ploughing, use of resistant varieties, early planting), integrated pest management and the use of insecticides. However, the correct insecticide should be applied to the early larval instar stage in order to avoid the pest developing insecticide resistance. This review paper looks at the damage caused by fall armyworm to cotton and cereal crops as well as the control measures that farmers can implement.

Keywords

• Fall armyworm
• Cereal
• Cotton
• Instar
• Insecticide
• Polyphagous
• Resistance

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