The emerging threat of Fall Armyworm in India time for proactiveand collective action

Abstract

The Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda; commonly referred to as “FAW”) is a crop pestnative to the Americas. It was first formally reported in West Africa in January 2016 andhas spread to several countries across Africa (except a few countries in North Africa). The pesthas been reported for the first time in India in Karnataka in July 2018, and subsequently ina few other states, such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra andOdisha. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – National Bureau ofAgricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR) issued a ‘pest alert’ on 30th July 2018 based onresults of surveys conducted between 9-18 July 2018 that recorded more than 70% prevalenceof the FAW in a maize field in Chikkaballapur, Karnataka. The pest later spread to eight tonine districts of Karnataka, such as Shivamogga, Bellary, Belgaum and Hassan. The FAWdamage has been the highest in maize, while several other crops, such as sorghum, sugarcane,millets and vegetables are also vulnerable to the attack. The pest has caused significantconcerns among the stakeholders and heightened the attention of the Government machinery.