In addition to conservation biological control (relying on and protecting the natural enemies which are locally present, as explained above), other approaches include for instance classical biological control(importing natural enemies from elsewhere and establishing them in farmers fields) and augmentative biological control (supplementing the numbers of naturally-occurring natural enemies with releases of natural enemies reared in labs or collected in […]
Category Archives: Maize Pests
Ch 7: Predators of the FAW
In this category you find natural enemies that kill one or several individuals of FAW during their life time either as larvae or adults. In this case, eggs, caterpillars, pupae or adult FAW are considered as preys. Usually predators are non-selective or generalists, thus they feed opportunistically on more than one host species, sometimes even […]
Ch 6: Biological control of the Fall Armyworm
Naturally-occurring bio-control agents The Fall Armyworm has many naturally-occurring ‘natural enemies’ or ‘farmers’ friends’. These biological control agents are organisms that feed on FAW. In the Americas, and probably in Africa, these natural enemies can be active during all development phases of FAW, i.e. in the egg, larval, pupal and adult stage. Natural enemies have the […]
Ch 4: Managing FAW Mechanical control and local controls
A very important management option for smallholder farmers in Africa, based on the experience of smallholders in the Americas, is to visit their fields regularly, and crush egg masses and young larvae*(“use your fingers, not pesticides”). Farmers should visit fields twice a week during vegetative stage, especially in periods of heavy oviposition by FAW, and once […]
Ch 5: Managing FAW with Push Pull
Push-pull technology Push-pull is a habitat management strategy developed and implemented to manage pests such as stem borers, striga weed and address soil degradation, which are major constraints in maize production in Africa. The technology entails using a repellent intercrop (Desmodium as a “push”) and an attractive trap plant (Napier/Brachiaria grass as a “pull”). The […]
Ch 15: Don’t panic! Maize plants can compensate significant damage by the Fall Armyworm
Damaged plants can scare farmers. Never before have they seen this type of damage, where the insect eats through so much of the leaves. Farmers know about stem borers, but because they aren’t often seen (hidden in the stems), they don’t often scare farmers like this new pest, the Fall Armyworm. The spectacular-looking damage is […]
Ch 3: Managing FAW
The most promising options for the management of FAW by African smallholders are presented below, building on experiences from the Americas and latest research available in Africa, reflecting IPM strategies. These can be tested out in FFS as appropriate. Seeds and varieties Seed treatment might prevent early damage of the seedlings after germination. Longer-term solutions […]
Ch 2: Differentiating the Fall Armyworm from other worms
Other pests of maize are present in Africa which resemble to some degree the FAW. You can differentiate them by learning to identify the worms themselves at their different stages, and the type of damage they produce. Below are different species of maize stalk borers and their life stages. The most important stem borers pests […]
Ch 1: Biology-ecology and identification of the Fall Armyworm
Key facts Credits:FAO, CABI,Infonet Fall Armyworm is an insect native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas It was first detected in Central and Western Africa in early 2016 and has now spread across Sub-Saharan Africa and recently reached Yemen and India In the larval stage, the insect causes damage to crops, feeding on […]