North American pest makes a debut in Telangana, officials worried

The Fall Armyworm has attacked crops in Maharashtra, Karnataka & Telangana. It has damaged maize crop in TS and officials are making all-out efforts to contain the spread.
North American pest makes a debut in Telangana, officials worried

HYDERABAD: A new pest, fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), which entered Telangana from North America, is making the agriculture officials press the panic button. This is the first time that Telangana, along with several states like Maharashtra and Karnataka, is facing such damage to crops by fall armyworm. It has now attacked maize crop in Telangana in 10 to 12 districts.

The fall armyworm first spread in South America in 2006 and later it invaded around 12 countries in the African continent in 2016-17.  The pest might have come to India through some imports, the officials felt.
When the new pest was noticed some ten days back, the officials were alerted. The Central government convened a meeting on Monday in Delhi to take stock of the situation. On behalf of the state, additional director (agriculture) Vijay Kumar attended the meeting. The National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR)  confirmed that the new pest was fall armyworm, principal secretary (agriculture) C Parthasarathy said.

He said that the pest could damage all crops, but it was currently attacking maize. “Like its name, the armyworm can travel 100 km in one day,” he said. Though the Centre suggested some pesticides and chemicals to deal with the fall armyworm, state officials and agriculture university team too are trying to apply local methods, the principal secretary said.

“It is indeed a big challenge for us. But we are capable of controlling the new pest,” Parthasarathy said. “With heavy rains in north Telangana recently, the pest was controlled to some extent. But in south Telangana, the age of the crops was less and prone to the attack of the fall armyworm,” official sources explained. The agricultural extension officers (AEOs) are sending the photos of the new insect to farmers through WhatsApp and alerting them about the kind of pesticides to be used.

According to sources, the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) is taking steps to control the pest with the support of all the affected states. Agriculture University vice-chancellor  V Praveen Rao said that samples of the crop attacked by the pest were sent to NBAIR. The officials suggested spraying 80 grammes of Emamectin Benzoate per acre at 0.4 grams per litre.

Fall Armyworm - A brief profile
Was first found in North America in 2006
It invaded 12 countries in African continent in 2016
It can travel 100 km in a day
In the larva stage, the insect causes damage to crops, feeding on more than 80 plant species
The moth can fly up to 100 km per night and can lay up to a total of 1,000 eggs in her lifetime 

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