Fall Armyworm in Africa & AsiaIPM Strategies to Manage the Pest

SPS COMMITTEE THEMATIC SESSION ON ENABLING ACCESS TO TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES: FALL ARMYWORM CASE STUDY

TUESDAY, 19 MARCH 2019WTO, CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD, GENEVA

Joseph Huesing PhD

Entomologist (USAID Contractor)USAID | Bureau for Food Security (Fall Armyworm Team)

Food Security Service CenterWashington DC, USA

Email: jhuesing@usaid.gov

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FAW FACTS

FAW (Spodoptera frugiperda; Lepidoptera; Noctuidae)– Native to the Americas

• First detected in Nigeria in 2016• Challenging Pest to control

– Feeds mainly inside the plant– Long history of resistance to pesticides & GM toxins– Extreme genetic bottleneck– Stewardship & innovation needed for long-term management

– Wide host range• >80 different crops - flowers• Maize, sorghum & rice most at risk

SAW (Spodoptera eridania; Lepidoptera; Noctuidae) – Resilience!– Southern Armyworm now in West Africa

• SAW eats cassava, tomatoes etc.Georg Goergen, IITA 2

FAW Life Cycle

CHALLENGESHigh Reproductive Capacity

Long Migration Distances

• Each full generation ~30 days• Large reproductive capacity• Pupate in soil at 2 – 8 cm• Does not diapause - dormant

state for surviving cold & drought

• Adult moths can fly Hundreds of kilometers

• Verified accounts of migrations of 1500 km

3Syngenta I Seed Care

FAW America’s History

• SMITH, J. E., & J. ABBOTT. 1797. The natural history of the rarer lepidopterous insects of Georgia. V. 2 illus. London.

• GLOVER, T. 1856. Insects frequenting the cotton-plant. U. S. Comm. Patents Rep. 1855 (Agr.): 64-115.

• WALTON, W. R., & P. LUGINBILL. 1917. The fall armyworm or "grass worm," and its control. Farmers' Bull. 752. USDA, 16 p.

• LUGINBILL, P. 1928. The fall armyworm. USDA Tech. Bull. No. 34. 92 p.

• VICKERY, R. A. 1929. Studies of the fall armyworm in the Gulf Coast district of Texas. USDA Tech. Bull. No. 138. 64 p.

• SEKUL, AA, & SPARKS AN. 1976. Sex attractant of the fall armyworm Moth. USDA Tech. Bull. 1542. 6 p.

Georg Goergen, IITA 4

FAW is new to Africa but not new to the Americas!

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Why Is FAW Called The ‘Fall’ Armyworm?

The Fall Armyworm Name

Fall Armyworm Migration Routes & Arrival Times In The U.S. (Sparks, A. 1979. A Review of the Biology of the Fall Armyworm. Fla. Entomol. 62(2):82-87)

FloridaTexas

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Fall Armyworm Name

Togo FAW most similar to populations from FL and Caribbean.

Nagoshi et al. 2017

FAW – Caribbean/Florida-type

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FAW Is Now A Essentially A Global Pest

FAW Distribution

Source: FAO, 2019

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FAW Will Be Endemic In Much Of Africa & Asia

• Migration as seen w/ African Armyworm & Locusts not the main dispersal issue

• Multiple overlapping generations per year

• Pheromone traps & Monitoring useful but:• Great research tool• Expensive• Traps do not accurately

predict FAW in the field• Pest is endemic –

Scout your field!

A Note On Monitoring

FAW will be endemic in much of Africa & Asia – it’s not going away• There is a solution: Knowledge - Tools - Policy

– Knowledge - Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) & Integrated Pest Management (IPM) - Maize farmers must adopt improved crop management

– Tools - These include conventional & GM seed, synthetic & biopesticides, as well as biocontrol options

– Policy - IPM tools require an enabling policy environment!

• EXAMPLE: GM & Conventional Seed– In Brazil & U.S. ~85% farmers choose GM maize– Safest most efficacious technology for farmers – limits exposure to chemicals

• EXAMPLE: Pesticides (Synthetic & Biopesticides)– Non GM = FAW chemical control is costly – labor & safety– Organic maize industry treats w/ pesticides 12 – 25x season– The latest & safest pesticides are not yet registered across Africa– Key tool - but policy, safety & efficacy data are challenges 9

FAW Solutions

Fall Armyworm in Africa: A Guide for Integrated Pest Management

• IPM Management• Monitoring/Scouting• Pesticide Use and Risk

Management• Host Plant Resistance• Biological Control• Cultural Control and

Landscape Management

IPM: Basis For (FAW) Pest Control

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INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM)

Host Plant Resistance (HPR)(Conventional & Biotech)

Pesticides(Conventional & Biopesticides)

The IPM TRIANGLE is Your Framework!

CulturalControls

Maize Grain Is Your Protection Goal!

Biocontrol (BioC)

LandscapePlanting Date

FertilizerSoil pH

IPM Framework In Action

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM)Food Security & Income Security

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Two concepts: • Economic Injury Level (EIL)

– The smallest number of insects (amount of injury) that will cause yield losses equal to the insect management costs.

• Economic Threshold (ET)– The pest density at which

action should be taken to prevent an increasing pest population from reaching the EIL.

To Calculate the ET & EIL We Need to Know: 1) Value of the crop yield.2) Cost of treatment: active ingredient, labor & risk.

It’s All About Economics

Pre-Scouting (Prepare)• Host Plant Resistance• Cultural Controls &

Landscape Management• Agronomics• Planting Date• Fertilizer & pH

adjustment• Biocontrol

Scout Your Field!!Scout – Assess – DecideChoose The Right Tools

Post-Scouting (Respond)• Choices?• Mechanical control• Pesticides• REMEMBER - The goal

is NOT To Spray!• Biocontrol (Inundative)

Damage Level = ET Take Action

IPM Framework In Action

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KEY FAW TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

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Risk Assessment & Field Data Will Identify The Pesticides That Meet The Needs Of African Farmers

61 pesticides recommended against FAW in

Africa

8 are Highly Hazardous

22 high risk to aquatic life

12 to wildlife24 to pollinators4 to bystanders

10-15 lower riskLower risk

6-10 efficacious and low risk

Where we started Where we are now

Pesticide selection process

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Enabling Environment

AATF [African Agricultural Technology Foundation].2013. A Guide to theDevelopment of Regulatory Frameworks for Microbial Biopesticides in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nairobi: African Agricultural Technology Foundation

Farmers Need The Tools & The Options To Control FAW (and other pests) In A Safe &

Effective Manner

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Thank You – Let Us Work Together