Indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) are based on the experiences of the local people being passed on from one generation to next and has been used for management of pest since ancient times. A study was conducted to collect and document the ITK and their application in pest management from indigenous communities in western mid hill of Nepal. A total sample size of seventy-five respondents from the indigenous communities of Magar, Gurung, and Newar in Tanahun, Lamjung and Kaski districts of Nepal were interviewed with a semi structured questionnaire. The study revealed that subsistence farmers and semi commercial farmers usually made the most use of ITK while commercial farmers rarely used such indigenous knowledge. Use of ITK was highest (85%) by the subsistence farmers, followed by semi-commercial farmers (60%), and lowest (10%) by commercial farmers in pest management. The transfer of ITK was mostly found to be through past generations. The indigenous technological knowledge being applied in pest management should be documented, promoted, and encouraged in combination with scientific knowledge among the farming communities. SAARC J. Agri., 18(1): 251-261 (2020)

Nepal faces a significant risk of invasive species posing a direct threat to food security and native biodiversity. With the potentiality of causing a considerable loss in yield and quality, invasive pest species can lead to significant damage in the Nepalese agricultural sector. Fall armyworm is a polyphagous, transboundary invasive pest that invaded Nepal in August 2019. They have a wide host range, the potentiality to establish rapidly and are highly migratory. Maize is the major host of fall armyworm which comes second in terms of production and area cultivated in Nepal. Spread and establishment of this pest are enhanced during the monsoon season of the country with favorable climate and temperature. This review presents an introductory pathway of the invasive pest, biology, lifecycle, status, and management of fall armyworm in Nepal. Integrated pest management can be the best approach for the management of this pest. Control of this invasive pest requires early monitoring, scientific research, and management strategy with awareness, knowledge, and technical support to Nepalese farmers.

Rapid assessment of crop damage is essential for successful management of insect pest outbreaks. In this study, we investigated the use of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and image analyses to assess an outbreak of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), that occurred in soybean fields in South Korea. A rotary-wing UAS was deployed to obtain a series of aerial images over 31 soybean blocks. The images were stitched together to generate composite imagery, followed by image analyses to quantify soybean defoliation. An economic analysis was conducted to compare the cost of the aerial survey with that of a conventional ground survey. The results showed that the aerial survey precisely estimated the defoliation compared to the ground survey, with an estimated defoliation of 78.3% and a range of 22.4–99.8% in the 31 blocks. Moreover, the aerial survey followed by image analyses was found to be more economical than the conventional ground survey when the number of target soybean blocks subject to the survey was more than 15 blocks. Our study clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of using an autonomous UAS and image analysis to conduct a low-cost aerial survey of soybean damage caused by S. exigua outbreaks, which can inform decision-making for S. exigua management.

The major objective of this study is to assess the status of maize production and adoption of improved maize seeds in Tanahun district. The study also aims to determine the factors affecting the adoption of the improved seeds. 100 maize farmers from four different local bodies of Tanahun were selected by the purposive sampling method for the household survey. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, logit model and index score ranking method were used for the data analysis. The productivity of maize and annual income from maize were 767.62 kg/ha and Rs 9500 higher for the farmers using improved seeds as compared to those using the local seeds. The mean annual household income of farmers replacing the seeds yearly was Rs 18983 higher than the farmers replacing the seeds rarely. The frequency of the agriculture technician support and the frequency of seed replacement with the improved seed were found to significantly determine the adoption of the improved maize seeds. Farmers receiving the regular technician support were 15.726 times more likely to adopt the improved seeds as compared to those receiving the technician support rarely or never. The adopters had 458.10 kg/ha higher productivity than the non-adopters. Lack of irrigation facility was found to be the major problem in maize cultivation whereas the lack of timely availability of improved seed was found to be the most important constraint for the adoption of improved seeds. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(2): 279-288

Pollinators play vital roles to the environment, biodiversity conservation, food security and several dimensions of global sustainable development. Honey bee is an important pollinator globally but has been exposed to increasing threats from diseases, pesticides and biotic stresses. This review paper highlights the role of honey bees as pollinators, addresses threats which influence decline of honey bees and assess pesticidal risk toxicity on non-target organisms. Decline of honey bee population is caused by several factors including habitat fragmentation, pesticidal toxicity, colony collapse disorder and climate change. Pesticidal residue and toxicity has an adverse effect which results in honey bee population decline, disturb foraging and contamination of bee products. Residues of agricultural pesticides like pyrethroid and neonicotinoid pose a serious threat on honey bee health further reducing agricultural production and diversity. Pesticidal risk assessments are carried out to study effects of pesticides on pollinators with an aim to provide measures to safeguard their abundance, diversity and health. Sustainable agriculture, effective policy and proper management can decrease pollinators' risk by helping to diversify the agriculture for pollen and nectars with reduced usage of pesticides and proper management.