![\"\"](\"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/01-Fall-armyworm-scaled-e1595002202178.jpg\")
<\/a>Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda).<\/em> However, ultimately, Dr Tambo and the scientists recommend that other control options using biological agents should be explored to fight the pest which is threatening the food security of more than 200 million people worldwide.<\/p>\n Dr Tambo said, \u201cOur study showed that 51 percent of households sampled in Ghana and 49 percent in Zambia, respectively, used pesticides to control fall armyworm. However, chemical pesticides are costly and their effectiveness and impact on human health and the environment requires further research.<\/p>\n \u201cFurthermore, while 39 percent and 42 percent of households, respectively, received information on FAW from neighbours and extension officers, we recommend that policy efforts should focus on widespread communication campaigns and training programmes with a stronger focus on biological controls.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Tambo added that more farmers also need to be educated and advised on other IPM techniques to managed FAW including constant weeding to remove alternative host plants; rotation and intercropping of maize with non-host plants; and uprooting and burning of infected plants to destroy larvae and pupae.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to convince farmers that IPM strategies which lean more towards more sustainable biological controls are a viable option, we must demonstrate that the cost is less than the value of the yield saved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Last year CABI scientist Dr Melanie Bateman published a paper in the Journal of Applied Entomology, \u2018Assessment of potential biopesticide options for managing fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)<\/em> in Africa\u2019 \u2013 the first major study of 50 potential biological controls that could be used to fight FAW.<\/p>\n Current CABI research on a variety of safe non-toxic FAW management techniques are ongoing. These include the possibility of the parasitoid Telenomus remus<\/em> \u2013 which was recently confirmed in Africa \u2013 could be employed to fight FAW.<\/p>\n Dr Marc Kenis, who is leading the research on Telenomus remus<\/em>, said, \u201cIn Latin America, field releases of Telenomus remus<\/em> in maize can result in 80-100 percent parasitism, providing full control of fall armyworm.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main challenge for a wider utilisation is to provide a product that is financially affordable for African farmers. Mass production on its natural hosts is costly but rearing systems on factitious hosts can be developed.\u201d \u00a2<\/p>\n Reference:<\/strong> Justice A. Tambo, Roger K. Day, Julien Lamontagne-Godwin, Silvia Silvestri, Patrick K. Beseh, Birgitta Oppong-Mensah, Noah A. Phiri & Mathews Matimelo (2019) \u2018Tackling fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) outbreak in Africa: an analysis of farmers\u2019 control actions\u2019, International Journal of Pest Management, DOI: 10.1080\/09670874.2019.1646942<\/p>\n Published in<\/strong> International Pest Control \u2013 November\/December 2019 issue.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CABI scientists are recommending the use of more environmentally sustainable biological controls, as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy, to fight the fall armyworm (FAW) instead of favouring more harmful pesticides. In a new paper published in the International Journal of Pest Management, Dr Justice Tambo led a team of researchers who suggest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,20],"tags":[661,230,835,836],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8074"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8074"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8081,"href":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8074\/revisions\/8081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Photo:<\/strong> Alton N. Sparks, Jr., University of Georgia, Bugwood.org<\/p><\/div>\n