Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), originated from America but is reported recently from Africa and the Asia-Pacific. FAW has caused huge international concern since its outbreak in Africa since 2016 and in Asia since mid-2018. The chapter mainly reviews its global distribution, life cycle, identification characters, strains, host plants, nature of damage, economic damage, and integrated pest management strategies available. The pest completes its life cycle on maize in 30 days (in warm summer months); in cooler temperatures, it may extend up to 60–90 days. For effective management of fall armyworm, different tools, viz., cultural control, agronomic management, breeding for resistance, natural enemies, and eco-friendly insecticides, should be used in an integrated approach. As the insect is recently introduced to Africa and the Asia-Pacific, possible management strategies and future cases of action are discussed

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Not AvailableTrichogrammatid egg parasitoid widely used in the biological control of lepidopteran pests. The great diversity of Trichogramma have been reported worldwide over 230 species parasitizing the different eggs of over 200 insect species belonging to 70 different families. Among, Trichogramma and Trichogrammatoidea are amenable for laboratory mass production on factitious hosts. Development of a tolerant strain for the different stresses, though genetic improvement considered very useful which improved their survival and performance to manage the insect-pests in field conditions. This development made easy to integrate trichogrammatids with other method of control and component in the integrated pest management practices. The present studies information pertaining to the information on most utilized species of trichogrammatids and their utilization have been discussed.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableOccurrence of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), commonly known as fall armyworm, in southern India is reported along with associated natural enemies. Severe damage was noticed in Chikkaballapur, Hassan, Shivamogga, Davanagere and Chitradurga during July-August 2018. The incidence ranged from 9.0 to 62.5 percent at various locations, maximum incidence was recorded in Hassan district followed by Chikkaballapur, Davanagere, Shivamogga and Chitradurga. Morphology and molecular based taxonomic tools were used for the identification of this pest. The GenBank accession number MH704433 of Chikkaballapur population was released on 1st August, 2018 and Barcode obtained from BOLD System-ID: AGIMP054-18. The survey also revealed natural parasitism by egg parasitoids viz., Telenomus sp. (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) and Trichogramma sp. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), gregarious larval parasitoid, Glyptapanteles creatonoti (Viereck) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) solitary larval parasitoid, Campoletis chlorideae Uchida (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), and a solitary indeterminate larval-pupal (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Ichneumoninae) parasitoid. Spodoptera frugiperda is the first host record for G. creatonoti across the globe. Glyptapanteles creatonoti, being a well established parasitoid of various noctuids in India and Malaysia, was capable of parasitizing S. frugiperda. Besides these, other commonly found bioagents viz., Forficula sp. (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) and entomopathogenic fungus Nomuraea rileyi (Farl.) Samson was also collected in large numbers. We report the natural enemy complex of S. frugiperda for the first time from India. The electro physiological response of Indian population of S. frugiperda male adults to pheromone was established. The studies to manage this pest by any/all means are in progress.Not Availabl