Experts at PAU, Ludhiana, caution against new invasive pest, fall armyworm

Ludhiana, October 9, 2019: Experts at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, have cautioned against the new invasive pest, Fall Armyworm that has been spotted at a few places on late sown fodder maize crop in the state. The larval stage of the Fall armyworm damages the crop. The larvae can easily be identified by the presence of four spots arranged in square pattern at tail end, and the head when seen from the front has a prominent white inverted Y-shaped line. The larvae of the insect feed on central whorl leaves causing round to oblong holes in leaves. The bigger larvae, later on, feed in the central whorl leaves voraciously and produce large amount of faecal matter. Farmers have been advised to survey their fields regularly and as soon as the attack of fall armyworm is noticed, spray neem based insecticide (1500 ppm azadirachtin) @ 5ml/litre of water or Bacillus thuringiensis variety kurstaki (BtK) based formulations @ 2ml/litre of water for small larvae. If the attack of fall armyworm is high and the larvae are bigger, spray chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC @ 0.4 ml/litre. Direct the spray nozzle towards the central whorl leaves. Strictly follow the waiting period of 20 days after the spray of insecticides, for using maize as fodder.