1. John H Nderitu1, Muo Kasina2, Felister Nzuve1
Review on responsive management actions against Fall Army worm (Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) in Kenya
RUFORUM Biennial Conference slated for October 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya
John H Nderitu1, Muo Kasina2, Felister Nzuve1
1Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection, University of Nairobi; Nairobi, Kenya
2National Sericulture Research Centre, Kenya Agricultural &Livestock Research Organization, Thika Kenya

2. Outline Fall Army worm (Spodoptera frugiperda JE Smith 1797)
Fall armyworm (FAW) invasion in Kenya
Interventions made to manage Fall armyworm invasion in Kenya
Requirements for long term sustainable management of Fall armyworm in Kenya
Recommended Fall army worm management Strategies in Kenya
International Agricultural Research Institutes' support for Fall army worm activities in Kenya
Recommendations

3. The Fall army worm, Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith 1797)
A moth, Lepidoptera
Family: Noctuidae
Genera: Spodoptera
Complete metamorphosis: eggs-larva-pupa-adult
Larva/caterpillar is the injurious stage
Lyle J. Buss,
Male
Female
M Kasina, 2017

4. Characteristics of FAW damages
Saw-dust frass when young; pellets at late instars
Shredding leaves and foliage in irregular manner
Severe infestation may appear like hail-storm damage

5. Fall Army worm Invasion in Kenya
In 2016: Fall army worm was spreading from the west Africa through Central to southern Africa
By December 2016 the pest was already reported in Rift Valley and Western zones of Kenya, bordering Uganda
In 2017 it was reported in 43 counties out of 47, with 20% maize yield loss of 1.05Million Kg bags with value of 3.15 Billion Kenya Shillings in 143,000 ha of maize(MOA, 2017) .
IN 2018 it is reported that the maize yield loss is about 5% due to FAW in all the 43 counties

6. Interventions made to manage Fall armyworm invasion in Kenya (Kinyua, 2017)
1. Harnessing Technical Expertise
Formation of a technical team from national and international institutions (FAW-MITT): instrumental in development of a strategy to guide the efforts of managing FAW.
2. Confirmation of FAW infestation in Kenya
3. Issuance of an alert to counties to trigger surveillance
4. Consolidation and dissemination of technical information materials
5. Launching of nation-wide control campaigns
6. Information sharing & awareness creation
Mass media public awareness and sensitization
Plant clinics (Plantwise program)
Training of County extension service providers

7. (Continue) 7. Authorization of pesticides for interim use
8. Provision of pesticides & Personal Protective Equipment for emergency use & demonstrations
9. Initiation of short-term applied research for integrated FAW management
Efficacy evaluation of pesticides
Bio-prospecting for microbial and biocontrol agents/natural enemies
Screening of maize varieties for resistance/tolerance
Monitoring pest spread
10. Resource mobilization
National and County Government resources
Resources from development partners

8. Requirements for medium & long term sustainable management of FAW in Kenya (Kinyua, 2018)
Direct Management Interventions: 1. Awareness and knowledge enhancement on Fall armyworm management strategies 1.1. Conducting public campaigns on fall armyworm management (plant health rallies) 1.2. Mass media awareness creation on fall armyworm management 2. Determining the economic and policy implications of FAW invasion in Kenya 2.1. Conduct a national survey to assess the economic impact and policy implications caused by FAW

9. (Continue)
3. Capacity building at national and county levels 3.1. Updating/development and dissemination of technical information materials on FAW 3.2. Training of agricultural extension service providers, regulatory, research, policy and other key stakeholders on integrated management of FAW 3.3. Enhancing farmers’ practical skills for integrated management of FAW 3.4. Development of capacity for research on fall armyworm 3.5. Establishment and operation of Fall Armyworm Management Coordination Unit

10. (Continue)
4. Enhancing national monitoring, surveillance and forecasting system for timely action 4.1. Develop a community-based fall armyworm monitoring, scouting and reporting system 4.2. Carry out national surveillance and inspection for fall armyworm in cereal and horticultural crop production and marketing systems

11. (Continue) Research plan activities by National Research systems
1 Assessment of socioeconomic impacts of Fall Armyworm and current interventions in Kenya
2 Determining the diversity and host range of fall armyworm in Kenya
3 Evaluating locally available biopesticides, entomopathogenic isolates and botanical extracts for management of fall armyworm in Kenya
Determining the effectiveness of local and exotic microbial biocontrol agents for deployment in management of fall armyworm in Kenya

12. (Continue)
5 Development and deployment of maize germplasm with resistance to fall armyworm in Kenya
6 Evaluating effectiveness, application regimes, socioeconomics and safety of promising insecticides for management of fall armyworm in Kenya
Determining the effectiveness of ecosystem management practices in controlling fall armyworm
Research proposals on Fall Armyworm by Ministry of
Agriculture (MOA, 2017) and Kenya Agricultural and Livestock
Research Organization (KARLO, 2017) have been developed and
being implemented by National Research system. The proposals
suggest short term(1-12months), medium term (12-24months)
and long term (>24 months) research activities
Training at postgraduate at our local and international universities

13. Recommended Fall army worm management strategies in Kenya (MOA, 2018)
1: Cultural management  
Adhere to regional planting schedules; avoid off-season and late planting of maize
Synchronized sowing based on catchment or county rainfall on set patterns
Keep maize fields weed-free to remove alternative hosts
Avoid planting new maize crop near FAW infested plants
Avoid moving FAW infested plant materials to limit pest spread
Apply Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) from planting to harvesting
Intercrop maize with legumes like beans, groundnuts, soybeans which help reduce space where FAW lay eggs
 Plant maize during main season and use alternative crops in second season
Provide natural hedges as breeding grounds for FAW natural enemies

14. (Continue) Enhanced crop nutrition management to enhance tolerance
Choice of varieties- those that show levels of tolerance; early maturing
Cropping intensification- intercropping with legumes and other non hosts
Push-pull strategy is reportedly effective with the use of Brachiaria grass (trap) and nappier grass (repel)

15. (Continue) 2. Early warning system
Kenya has partnered with FAO to roll out an EWS that uses sms or android phones
Farmers are capable of confirming they have FAW and take necessary steps to control

16. (Continue) 3: Scouting and Monitoring
Scout weekly after crop emergence and take timely action if FAW damage or larvae are present
Appropriate scouting involves looking for damage on at least 10 consecutive plants in 10 randomly selected sites
Look for cream / grey egg masses covered with cotton-like material on the underside of leaves
Look for green, brown or black larvae inside the whorl
A mature caterpillar has a distinct inverted “Y” pattern on the head and four black spots in a square arrangement at the tail end
Look for ragged and elongated holes on the leaves
Check for damage on tassels and cobs

17. (Continue)
There is use of sex-pheromone to monitor invasion and population build up
Farmers have been trained on on-farm scouting to detect infestation

18. (Continue) 4: Mechanical/physical Management
Handpick and squash egg masses
Pick and crash caterpillars or drop them in hot water (Killing one caterpillar prevents more than 1500 new caterpillars which would have formed after a period of 4 weeks)
Put a half handful of wood ash or fine sand in the whorl of the attacked plants to kill the larvae
Attract FAW natural enemies by applying e.g. fish soup to few plants in the farm
Apply a pinch from a mixture of 50g ground hot pepper + 2kg wood ash into plant funnel (whorl) at knee-high stage

19. (Continue)
5. Chemical Control Spray early morning or late evening using an insecticide containing any of the following active ingredients: i) Gamma Cyhalothrin (e.g. Vantex 60 CS) ii) Flubendiamide (e.g. Belt 480 SC) iii) Chlorantraniliprole (e.g. Coragen 20SC) iv) Indoxacarb (e.g. Avaunt 150 EC) v) Acephate (e.g. Lotus, Orthene Pellet), vi) Carbosulfan (e.g. Marshal 250 EC) vii) Alpha-Cypermethrin (e.g. Bestox 100 EC)

20. (Continue)
viii) Abamectin + Chlorantraniliprole (e.g. Voliam Targo 063 SC) ix) Lufenuron (e.g. Match 50 EC) x) Lambda Cyhalothrin (e.g. Duduthrin) xi) Spinetoram (Radiant 120 SC) NB. Alternate pesticides with different modes of action to avoid pest resistance Use of biological products like Dipel DF, Baciguard 16wg, Halt 50WP, or Neem based products is safer to the environment

21. (Continue) The effectiveness of pesticides is influenced by
Timing application: applying at late instars is not effective
Dosage: use of dosages different from the recommended is not effective
Art of delivery/Application: the spray nozzle used, pressure applied to atomize the pesticide; Target maize sites; time of the day all affect efficiency of the products
The pesticides are recommended for about 3 applications in a season

22. (Continue) 5. Biological control
There is yet any strong programme on biological control in the country
The overreliance and belief in pesticides will result to major catastrophe with resurgence of the pest/ resistance strain to pesticides
Classical biological control is known to create ecological balance in a system and therefore it is imperative for government to initiate the programme

23. Poster on how to manage Fall Army worm (MOA, 2017)

24. Pamphlet on Army worm(MOA, 2017)

25. International Research Institutes‘s support for Fall army worm activities in Kenya
FAO
A. Support For Vulnerable Maize Farmers Affected By Fall Army Worm In Kenya
Activities:
FAW management strategy developed and implemented: Conduct field surveys to establish and document spread and damage of FAW in Kenya
Assess commercially available sex pheromone lures, trap designs and appropriate densities per ha for rapid scaling up
Validate “push – pull” technology combinations for effective FAW control and management for scaling up
Support preparation of an FAW management contingency plan
Scale-up the use of appropriate sex pheromone lures and traps for monitoring and early warning

26. (Continue)
B. Capacities of National and County staff to control and manage FAW strengthened for FAW control and management
Activities:
Review and print awareness creation and education materials on FAW management and control practices.
Organize training for County Agriculture extension staff on development of county-specific FAW management strategy
Organize training for public and private sector, sub-county extension service providers on FAW management including selection, safe use and handling of pesticides.
Organize awareness education among maize farmers, seed producers and stockists on FAW management including safe use of pesticides.
Design and implement a long-term National FAW management strategy to mitigate against future infestations and damage
Survey protocol: Data collection, analysis and report writing

27. (Continue) ICIPE ICIPE is working on
Biological control to identify effective bioagent against the FAW
Push-pull strategy to maximize its use on fall armyworm. They have found intercropping maize with drought-resistant green leaf desmodium and planting Brachiaria grass on the farm’s edge helps curb fall armyworms.

28. (Continue)
CYMMIT
plant resistance targeting breeding of maize for resistance to Fall Army Worm.

29. Recommendations
Biological control research particularly egg parasitoids should be given major boost
Pesticide resistance management plan is essential, including studies on the effects of increased pesticide use to the environment, human and animal health
Capacity for Area Wide IPM is required urgently; this need to include county systems
Enhanced funding from national government for research and extension on FAW management

30. Acknowledgement Financial support RUFORUM to present the paper in the
sixth African higher education and biennial conference in
Nairobi, Kenya
RUFORUM support in research Work in Fall Army worm through a post doc grant for the next two years
University of Nairobi
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO)

31. THANK YOU