D van Heerden

Fall army worm/Amerikaanse

Kommandowurm
Spodoptera frugiperda
Feb 2017
Saamgestel deur Des van Heerden
Tegniese Gewasdeskundige
Syngenta Suid-Afrika
Tel: +27 (0) 11 541 4075
Sel: +27 (0) 71 877 3204
[email protected]
www.syngenta.co.za
 Background

New pest invaded South Africa Dec 2016/Jan 2017

Mainly attacking maize crops
1st noted in Limpopo close to our Northern borders
Control problems - assumed bollworm in sweetcorn and green mielies
Normally used pesticides did not give satisfactory control
More complaints started rolling in - suspected fall army worm (FAW)
South Africa not the only country caught off guard
Countries such as Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe suffered
huge crop losses due to this unfamiliar pest
Zambia estimated 130 000 ha affected
FAW noted in Nigeria about a year ago
Spread to West Africa (April 2016) and invaded Central African countries
Specific arrival date and way of distribution not jet clear

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 Background
FAW officially identified and confirmed, ARC - PPRI early Feb 2017
Native to South and Central America, also occurs Southern States of the
USA on corn, soybeans, dry beans, grain sorghum, sunflower, cotton
and potatoes
It might also attack barley, wheat, peanuts, grass and fodder crops and
vegetables such as cabbage, spinach and the capsicum / pepper group
Maize is the preferred crop
Literature lists more than 100 crops in 27 plant families
Host range and crops attacked must be established in South Africa
So far mainly maize, e.g. sweet corn, green mielies, yellow maize, some
white varieties and seed production of maize are under thread
Few reports on spinach, cabbage and sweet peppers and sunflower
Recorded in 9 provinces; Limpopo, Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga,
the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern, Eastern and Western Cape

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 Behavior
Little known on pest behavior in South Africa
Will the moth lay eggs and move on?
Will fields be re-infested by a second generation?
Very strong flyers - can cover about a 1 000 km in a week
Use wind or air currents and weather patterns to their benefit
How will this affect us? Distribution in ZA
Will the insect die out in cooler areas during winter?
What will happen in our warm areas such as the far North during winter?
Is grazing at risk?
Will FAW become a sporadic pest with outbreaks every few years or will
it be one of our regular maize pests or a general pest on many host
plants?
How will it affect us economically? What is the impact?
Will the pest occur only after drought periods or can it strive in so called
normal years?

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 Behavior
More questions than answers but behind the curtains researchers are
at work
Universities such as North West (PUKKE) already started research
projects as well as the ARC
Many of these questions will only be answered in the long run over a
season or two but they are addressed

Johan Dreyer D van Heerden

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 Behavior
How do we get rid of the FAW or bring the numbers under the economic
threshold level?
Is resistance a threat or will all chemicals be affective?
What cultivar will give more protection or will all maize be affected?
Who will address these problems and when will the farmers have an
answer?
Role players in addressing some of these problems are IRAC (the
Insecticide Resistance Action Committee), CropLife South Africa
(Agrochemical companies), Grain SA, SANSOR, DAFF (Department of
Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries), ARC (Agricultural Research Counsel),
Universities, to name only a few

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 Eggs
Eggs are laid in masses
Number varies considerably but is often 50 or 100 200
Total egg production per female averages 1500, maximum > 2000
Eggs sometimes deposited in layers, but most eggs are spread over a
single layer attached to foliage
Female also deposits a layer of grayish scales between the eggs and
over the egg mass
Eggs hatch in only 2 - 3 days during the summer months

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 Double stack
egg mass

Single layer, on leaves

Johan Dreyer
covered in moth scales
between 50 and 250 eggs /
egg mass

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 Larvae
Color variation green, pinkish, brown or black
Distinct white line between the eyes forms an inverted Y pattern on the
face
4 black spots aligned in a square on the top of the 8th segment near the
back end of the larvae
Armyworms are very small at first, cause little plant damage and as a
result infestations often go unnoticed
Larvae feed for 2-3 weeks and full grown larvae are about 2,5 3,8 cm
long
Armyworms consume 80% of their total food intake during the last few
days of development
Immense appetite, great numbers, can damage entire fields in a few
days
Once the armyworm completes feeding, mature larvae tunnels into the
soil, pupate about 2,5 cm deep

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 Identification

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 Initial feeding small windows

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Young larvae ca be confused with boll worm larvae

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Bollworm Bollworm

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Color variation, light beige stripe on side can be confused with
bollworm, larger (up to 3.8 cms) with Y on head, 4 dots at back

Y D van Heerden
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All feeding in
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one cob D van Heerden

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 Pupae and adult moths
After 7-10 days, moths emerges from the pupa
Life cycle repeats
Moths are night fliers, dull to dark grey with irregular pattern of light and
dark areas on the front wings
Pre-oviposition period of 3 - 4 days
Female normally deposits most of her eggs during the first 4 - 5 days
Some oviposition occurs for up to 3 weeks
Adult life on average about 10 days
Life cycle takes about 1 month in the summer and several months in
winter
Several generations a year

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 Life cycle, 24 - 40 days
Adult live up to
21 days, av. 10
days 1. Pre-oviposition period,
3 4 days
2.

pupal stage,
7 - 13 days 100 to 200 eggs mass
up to 2000, 2 3 days
3

larval stages,
L1 L6 about 14 22 days

photo David Almquist

Johan Dreyer

18 Photo 1 & 2 Kansas State University; 3. Pedro Castro

 Damage

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 Attack young & older maize
every plant in the field could be infested

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Silk damage, early can lead to pollination problems

Cut silk no
pollination

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 Cob/ear feeding

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Early whorl
feeding
damage

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 Cob feeding up to 9 larvae/ear

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 Secondary fungus infections such as Diplodia & Fusarium, not
suitable for animal feed

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 Stalk damage

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Tassel feeding

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Larvae tend
to hide from
sunlight or
move into
shade/cover

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 Control
Preliminary interim guide released by DAFF
Various Chemicals are already registered by The
Registrar Act 36/1947
Every day more products are added and Farmers
are advised to visit the CropLife SA database on
insecticides at www.croplife.co.za for trade names.
The Agri Intel Database at www.agri-intel.com and
the DAFF web page www.daff.gov
Do not use pyrethroids, this insecticide group
do not give any control
Control also vary from very poor to acceptable
control with carbamates and organophosphates
Depending on the strain BT might or might not give D van Heerden

control

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Active ingredient(s) Trade name
Indoxacarb Steward 150 EC, Advance 150 SC, Addition 150
SC , Doxstar Flo
Chlorantraniliprole Coragen
Chlorantraniliprole/Lambda-cyhalothrin Ampligo
Emamectin benzoate Emma, Proclaim, Promex 20 EW, Vitex 50,
Warlock 19.2 EC
Flubendiamide Belt
Methomyl Spitfire, FarmAg Methomyl 900, Mylomex 200 SL
Profenophos FarmAg Profenofos 500
Lufenuron Sorba, Lepidex
Spinetoram Delegate 250 WG
Spinetoram/Methoxyfenozide Uphold 360 SC
Benfuracarb/Fenvalerate Oncol Super 220 SC
Chlorpyrifos Avi Klorpirifos 480 EC
Mercaptothion Avi Merkaptotion DP, Avi Gard
Azadirachtin Neemazal
Bacillus thuringiensis var azawai Florbac WG
Novaluron/Indoxacarb Plemax
Carbosulfan Marshall 400 EC
Mercaptothion Kombat Malathion
Azadirachtin Neemazal

45 Registered up to 14 Feb 2017

 Control
For effective control;
scout fields every 2 to 3 days
start spraying when egg parcels or young hatchlings are noted, or when
young larvae are found inside the whorl
Insecticide applications must be made during early development stages
of larvae
The best control is obtained if the larvae feed exposed on leaves, the
outside of cobs/ears, tassels and where chemicals can reach them
As soon as the worms penetrate too deep into the whorl or feed inside
the cob nothing will effectively control them
Small larvae are also more easily controlled that full grown ones of
almost 4 cms
Do not to make any concoctions or mixtures, adhere to the label
specifications and dosage rates of the registered labels.

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 Chemicals effect on exposed larvae

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Johan Dreyer

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 Thanks

Johan Dreyer

49 Klassifikasie: PUBLIEK