Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University will brief the press today on a new invasive pest on maize—‘Fall army worm Spodoptera frugiperda.’ The Vice Chancellor, TNAU will discuss in detail current status of fall army worm, damage potential, alternate host plants, life cycle, management strategies and current research activities of TNAU to mitigate the pest.
Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University will brief the press today on a new invasive pest on maize—‘Fall army worm Spodoptera frugiperda.’ The Vice Chancellor, TNAU will discuss in detail current status of fall army worm, damage potential, alternate host plants, life cycle, management strategies and current research activities of TNAU to mitigate the pest.
The incidence of this invasive pest fall army worm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera), a native of America was observed in maize in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh during July 2018.
In Tamil Nadu, FAW is being observed in the maize growing districts such as Coimbatore, Erode, Tirupur, Dindigul, Karur, Villupuram, Salem, Krishnagiri, Tirunelveli and Tanjore Districts on all hybrids and varieties.
FAW larvae start causing damage from 15 days after sowing (vegetative stage) and continue their ravage on tassels and cobs. The symptoms of damage are scrapping of leaves, pin holes, small to medium elongated holes, parallel shot holes and irregular shaped holes on leaves, loss of top portion of leaves, presence of chewed up frass material and fecal pellets in the leaf whorl, drooping of leaf portion above the feeding area, feeding on tassel, terminal and stalk portion of cob.