FAO.org

Researchers from 16 Asian and African countries have been trained to mass rear parasitoids that farmers can use to fight the fall armyworm (FAW), an exotic pest that is ravaging food crops on two continents and beyond. During a five-day workshop in July 2019, organized by the ICRISAT at its Sadoré research station, some 27 specialists reviewed monitoring and management of FAW as well as mass producing the pest’s egg parasitoids. Hopes are that facilities to produce large amounts of these parasitoids will contribute significantly to fighting the pest. The training workshop was funded by the Government of Norway.

Participants at the training session were briefed on the biology, taxonomy, ecology, and distribution of FAW in their respective countries as well as given practical experience for preparing diets to grow the parasitoids. Fall armyworm eggs are used to produce the parasitoid Telenomus remus, and eggs of the rice moth are used for producing the beneficial parasitoid Trichogramma. As both of these parasitoid species have lower populations at the beginning of the growing season, it is hoped that their mass production and early establishment will suppress FAW throughout the cropping season.

During the workshop, participants were trained on how to differentiate the males and females of the two parasitoid species and different steps toward rearing them. The training also involved scouting for eggs of FAW in order to assess levels of parasitism and collecting egg parasitoids to start new cultures. They also learned how to release the parasitoids once a culture is established. These two natural enemies of FAW were found in 2019 by ICRISAT-Niger in collaboration with Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN), University of Maradi, and the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management.

Fall armyworm, which is native to tropical and subtropical Americas, began to spread in Africa in 2016 and within two years reached Asia as well. The pest devours over 300 plant species, including important food crops maize and sorghum, which feed millions of people every day. While some farmers and governments have reacted with pesticides to fight FAW, biological control has been demonstrated to be a more effective, cost-efficient and safe method for management the pest. Workshop participants came from Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Mali, Nepal, Niger, Senegal, Sudan, Togo and Vietnam. The workshop was supported by INRAN and the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management (IPM Innovation Lab), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), TAAT Sorghum and Millet Compact and the CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals.