The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a major pest of maize in North and South America. It was first reported from Africa in 2016 and currently established as a major invasive pest of maize. A survey was conducted to explore for natural enemies of the fall armyworm in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in 2017. Smallholder maize farms were randomly selected and surveyed in the three countries. Five different species of parasitoids were recovered from fall armyworm eggs and larvae, including four within the Hymenoptera and one Dipteran. These species are new associations with FAW and were never reported before from Africa, North and South America. In Ethiopia, Cotesia icipe was the dominant larval parasitoid with parasitism ranging from 33.8% to 45.3%, while in Kenya, the tachinid fly, Palexorista zonata, was the primary parasitoid with 12.5% parasitism. Charops ater and Coccygidium luteum were the most common parasitoids in Kenya and Tanzania with parasitism ranging from 6 to 12%, and 4 to 8.3%, respectively. Although fall armyworm has rapidly spread throughout these three countries, we were encouraged to see a reasonable level of biological control in place. This study is of paramount importance in designing a biological control program for fall armyworm, either through conservation of native natural enemies or augmentative release.
The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, threatens maize production in Africa. A survey was conducted to determine the distribution of FAW and its natural enemies and damage severity in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in 2017 and 2018. A total of 287 smallholder maize farms (holding smaller than 2 hectares of land) were randomly selected and surveyed. FAW is widely distributed in the three countries and the percent of infested maize fields ranged from 33% to 100% in Ethiopia, 93% to 100% in Tanzania and 100% in Kenya in 2017, whereas they ranged from 80% to 100% and 82.2% to 100% in Ethiopia and Kenya, respectively, in 2018. The percent of FAW infestation of plants in the surveyed fields ranged from 5% to 100%. In 2017, the leaf damage score of the average of the fields ranged from 1.8 to 7 (9 = highest level of damage), while 2018, it ranged from 1.9 to 6.8. In 2017, five different species of parasitoids were recovered from FAW eggs and larvae. Cotesia icipe (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was the main parasitoid recorded in Ethiopia, with a percent parasitism rate of 37.6%. Chelonus curvimaculatus Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was the only egg-larval parasitoid recorded in Kenya and had a 4.8% parasitism rate. In 2018, six species of egg and larval parasitoids were recovered with C. icipe being the dominant larval parasitoid, with percentage parasitism ranging from 16% to 42% in the three surveyed countries. In Kenya, Telenomus remus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) was the dominant egg parasitoid, causing up to 69.3% egg parasitism as compared to only 4% by C. curvimaculatus. Although FAW has rapidly spread throughout these three countries, we were encouraged to see a reasonable level of biological control in place. Augmentative biological control can be implemented to suppress FAW in East Africa.
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