VERY IMPORTANT: PESTICIDES WILL ONLY CONTROL THE LARVAE SUCCESSFUL BEFORE THEY SEEK THE COVER OF EARS!! IT IS FUTILE TO TRY AND APPLY PESTICIDES ONCE THE LARVAE ARE INSIDE EARS.

ALSO TAKE NOTE THAT NO PESTICIDES ARE REGISTERED FOR THE FALL ARMY WORM IN MAIZE. IT IS BEST TO TRY THOSE PRODUCTS THAT ARE REGISTERED IN MAIZE FOR OTHER LEPIDOPTERA PESTS.

Indoxacarb has been tested and proved to be successful. Products available from DuPont and Villa Crop Protection. DuPont’s registered for maize.

Lufenuron does seem to work but is not registered in maize. Products available from Villa Crop Protection, Meridian Agrochemical Company and Syngenta.

Chlorantraniliprole seems to be very effective BUT take note that this is a diamide and resistance development is a serious issue. It needs to applied with great caution and only in the number of applications as instructed by labels. AMPLIGO is registered on maize against stemborers, Products available from Syngenta and DuPont.

Emamectin benzoate is also a product that has been tested with success. Not registered in maize. Product available from Syngenta.

Spinosad has also been tested with some success but none registered in maize. Products available from Dow AgroScience and Efekto.

Spinetoram also showed potential but not registered in maize. Product available from Dow AgroScience.

Chlorpyrifos is registered on maize for Lepidoptera but it needs to be established whether the insect is susceptible or resistant to it. Many companies supply: Adama, Arysta LifeScience, Avima, Villa Crop Protection, CropChem, Dow AgroScience and Nulandis (Plaaskem).

Thiodicarb is a carbamate and the suspicion is that the insect is resistant to carbamates; it thus requires a quick test to see if it is effective. Product is available from Bayer CropScience and is registered on maize.

Methomyl is registered for maize but it is also a carbamate with the potential to be ineffective due to resistance. Products available from Arysta LifeScience, Villa Crop Protection, Adama, Nulandis (Plaaskem), Cipla AgriCare, DuPont and Bitrad.

Benfuracarb is registered on maize (also in combination with pyrethroids) but also faces the resistance development problem. Products available from Villa Crop Protection, Meridian Agrochemical Company and Dow AgroScience.

Spray applications of Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstakii is a potential biological remedy but it depends which strain is successful against the larvae and the size of larvae when applications are made. None registered in maize. Products available from Valent BioSciences (Philagro), Villa Crop Protection, Becker Underwood, Agro-Organics and Plant Health Products.

It is suggested that insecticide applications be made during early development stages of larvae. Farmers should, however, only apply insecticides once infestations of larvae are noticed inside plant whorls.

Although this pest attacks mostly maize, it may occasionally attack cotton, wheat and groundnut. It is therefore also important to scout these crops for damage and the presence of this invasive species.

Farmers can interrogate the CropLife SA database on insecticides at http://www.croplife.co.za/images/croplife/initiatives/InsecticidesAugust2016.pdf for trade names of products or also scout on the Agri Intel Database www.agri-intel.com (need to apply for password but it is very quick). Both website are available at no cost to all users.

If one strictly follows the spirit of Act 36/1947 then use those products that are registered for maize as we know how to use it and we know how to manage the residues by abiding by pre-harvest intervals.

Source: Grain SA Press Release

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The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) received several reports from farmers of an unidentified Lepidoptera pest causing damage to maize between 16 and 27 January 2017. However the pest was observed on maize by some South African producers since December 2016.

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Identification of the pest
Initial identifications were done visually based on external characteristics of larvae (worms). After collection and rearing of larvae by Scientists from the ARC-GCI and North-West University, moths were delivered to Ms Vivienne Uys, an expert taxonomist at ARC-PPR for identification using classical taxonomy. Larval material was also sent to Stellenbosch University where molecular identification will be done. The identification will be confirmed by 7 February 2017.

What are the implications
We can extrapolate from current knowledge on the African army worm species, which are also more tropical like the FAW, that the FAW outbreaks in South Africa in future will most likely be sporadic. However, this is only speculation since this pest species is highly adaptive and has evolved resistance to Genetically Modified (GM) maize in the US and also to insecticides in other countries.

Short term investigations that have to be done to address the possible negative impact on South African agriculture is the evaluation of available GM Bt maize for its efficacy to kill FAW larvae and to identify effective insecticides. Research is therefore essential. Several agro-chemical companies have embarked on this process.

State of infestation (how much crops/hectares are infected)
Other crops?? We have inspected spinach and green peppers and lucerne fields in infested areas and found NO infestations on these crops.
We are not able to make an accurate estimate yet. At the moment it seems that only maize is attacked.
The areas from which reports of attacks were received are in in the Limpopo and North-West provinces. It seems the 1st observations of the presence of this pest were made during December 2016. These were quickly followed up by the scientific community and DAFF. Pest samples were collected on 20 January and a DAFF meeting on the topic was held on 25 January.
The pest infestation is limited to “hot spot” areas in regions such as Delareyville, Zeerust, the Springbok Flats, notably Bela-Bela, Settlers and Makopane area. Fields in the Brits, Koedoeskop, Thabazimbi areas are heavily infested. Sweet corn farmers in the Lowveld area Tzaneen/Hoedspruit area have serious infestations.

Are there any existing or proposed control measures?
Pesticides will have to be registered. At the DAFF meeting on 25 January it was noted that there’s currently no chemicals registered for FAW control in maize crops in South Africa. However there’s other chemicals registered for Lepidoptera including organophosphates etc. that can be recommended to farmers. Emergency authorization of use of possible chemicals from the registrar could be considered based on promulgations of the Act 36. Companies will apply for emergency registrations with the registrar of the Act.

After the DAFF meeting a list of insecticides that will most likely be effective was compiled by Dr Gerhard Verdoorn with inputs from Universities and the agrochemical industry.
Preliminary field observations indicate that GM Bt maize suppresses larval feeding and damage. This puts the pest in a different context in South Africa since countries to the north (especially Zambia and Malawi), where devastating outbreaks occurred, do not cultivate Bt maize.

The pest was introduced into African from South/North America during 2016. It is strongly suspected that the pest in South Africa is from a south-ward migration of this species from tropical Africa. Damage to maize in especially small farming systems in countries such as Zambia and Malawi. The initial reports from West Africa were made from Benin, Sao Tome and Northern Nigeria.

It will never be possible to eliminate this pest. It is an invasive species which is here to stay. Research should be conducted on its adaptability in the region and to identify areas where it will establish to become endemic.

Research is needed to develop and integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy in order to limit pest outbreaks and improve control methods in future.

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The pest, said the national Department Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, was native to South and Central America and also occurred in the southern states of the US.

Biowatch’s agro-ecology manager Lawrence Mkhaliphi said: “In a balanced agro-ecological farming system, crop and predator diversity minimises the damage from pest outbreaks. It’s time for a rapid transition to agro-ecological farming methods as these work with nature, and help to mitigate climate change – otherwise we are likely to see ever more frequent plagues of pests, droughts, floods and consequent famine.” Professor Gyebi Duodu of the University of Pretoria’s Department of Food Science, which conducts research on healthy foods made from indigenous grains, said small-scale crop producers were already producing sorghum and other crops in South Africa.

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