Pune: Fall Armyworm, the dreaded pest considered a threat to global food security, has been found in Maharashtra, the Bengaluru-based National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources said.
Pune: Fall Armyworm, the dreaded pest considered a threat to global food security, has been found in Maharashtra, the Bengaluru-based National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources said.
Entomologists have detected the presence of the pest on sugarcane crops even as scientists at India’s premium institutes hope it doesn’t infest rice, which could be highly dangerous.
First detected in Karnataka in May, the presence of Fall Armyworm has been confirmed in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
“We have detected it during the vegetative stage of crops. However, it has not caused much damage at the harvest period,” said a scientist who did not wish to be identified.
Scientists are concerned about the possibility of the pest spreading to other crops.
“We have detected presence of Fall Armyworm not only on maize but also on sugarcane crop in Solapur district of Maharashtra,” said Ankush Chormule, an agronomist working with a private multinational company.
However, laboratory confirmation of the Fall Armyworm’s presence on sugarcane is awaited. Chormule said the rapid spread of the pest from one state to another suggests it could have arrived in India a few years ago.
Top officials of Maharashtra’s agriculture department said that they have issued advisories about the pest.
“We are going to include surveillance of Fall Armyworm under the state’s Cropsap project during the rabi and the summer crop,” said an official on condition of anonymity. However, the department hasn’t yet reported its presence on sugarcane. Farmers are not aware about how to destroy the pest.
Scientifically known as Spodoptera frugiperda, the Fall Armyworm is an insect native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. In its larva stage, it can cause significant damage to crops, if not well managed, according to the website of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The pest prefers maize but can feed on more than 80 additional species of plants, including rice, sugarcane, vegetable crops and cotton. The Fall Armyworm was first detected in Central and Western Africa in early 2016 and it has spread across all of Sub-Saharan Africa. The moth can fly up to 100 km per night and the female moth can lay up to 1,000 eggs in her lifetime, according to FAO.
With its arrival in India, the concern is that it may spread to other Asian countries.
Entomologists have detected the presence of the pest on sugarcane crops even as scientists at India’s premium institutes hope it doesn’t infest rice, which could be highly dangerous.
First detected in Karnataka in May, the presence of Fall Armyworm has been confirmed in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
“We have detected it during the vegetative stage of crops. However, it has not caused much damage at the harvest period,” said a scientist who did not wish to be identified.
Scientists are concerned about the possibility of the pest spreading to other crops.
“We have detected presence of Fall Armyworm not only on maize but also on sugarcane crop in Solapur district of Maharashtra,” said Ankush Chormule, an agronomist working with a private multinational company.
However, laboratory confirmation of the Fall Armyworm’s presence on sugarcane is awaited. Chormule said the rapid spread of the pest from one state to another suggests it could have arrived in India a few years ago.
Top officials of Maharashtra’s agriculture department said that they have issued advisories about the pest.
“We are going to include surveillance of Fall Armyworm under the state’s Cropsap project during the rabi and the summer crop,” said an official on condition of anonymity. However, the department hasn’t yet reported its presence on sugarcane. Farmers are not aware about how to destroy the pest.
Scientifically known as Spodoptera frugiperda, the Fall Armyworm is an insect native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. In its larva stage, it can cause significant damage to crops, if not well managed, according to the website of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The pest prefers maize but can feed on more than 80 additional species of plants, including rice, sugarcane, vegetable crops and cotton. The Fall Armyworm was first detected in Central and Western Africa in early 2016 and it has spread across all of Sub-Saharan Africa. The moth can fly up to 100 km per night and the female moth can lay up to 1,000 eggs in her lifetime, according to FAO.
With its arrival in India, the concern is that it may spread to other Asian countries.