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<\/p>\n\n\n\nIsn\u2019t it interesting how seemingly unrelated events in two countries can lead to the same outcome? The story of identifying the fall armyworm in Africa is as intriguing as the pest itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2015 Ylva Hillbur, IITA\u2019s former Deputy Director General (DDG) Research for Development was in talks with a Swedish team of researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences who were interested in studying the African armyworm. Hillbur requested for samples of the moth from Georg Goergen, the entomologist who heads IITA\u2019s insect Biodiversity Center in Cotonou, Benin. \u201cI kept an open eye so that if ever we saw the moths, we\u2019d send some to the DDG,\u201d Georg says. We knew it would only be a matter of time since the African armyworm is a seasonal insect, which only appears in the first rains after a very long dry spell. We were also aware that it never stays long in the same place, usually a week or two, and it leaves behind only one generation in any given place before moving to the next location,\u201d says Georg an entomologist with ample field experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
March 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While the team in Cotonou was on the lookout, the farm manager at IITA-Ibadan, Nigeria was going on about his daily work of inspecting maize fields and spraying any pests. This was in March 2016. After the usual spraying, the farm manager noticed that this particular insect was not dying. The more they sprayed, the more the insects multiplied, and they fed audaciously. This strange insect that didn\u2019t respond to pesticides alarmed the farm manager, so he alerted Lava Kumar, IITA\u2019s virologist. Kumar informed an entomologist\u2014Abou Togola based at IITA\u2019s Kano Station in northern Nigeria. Togola went to Ibadan and immediately recognized that this moth was different from other native African species. This is when samples were sent to IITA\u2019s biocontrol center in Cotonou for Georg to identify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Georgen was excited to receive the samples thinking it must the African armyworm that the DDG had asked for. However, when the specimen arrived, he was surprised. \u201cIt was different from what I knew! Surely, it was a species belonging to Spodoptera<\/em> but there are over 30 species of Spodoptera<\/em> although Africa had eight species by then,\u201d he says. \u201cWe first received caterpillars (larvae) and the adults (moths) came later. Based on the genitalia, we identified the moths as the fall armyworm\u2014at this point excitement reached fever pitch.\u201d Why were you excited, I asked? \u201cNew information is always exciting. We knew it to be an important pest that required us to move fast. However, you can only publish such information when you are 200% sure. If one is wrong, one can ruin their own and the institute\u2019s reputation,\u201d Georgen responded. In ensuring that he was 200% sure, Georg asked Kumar, the virologist, to DNA barcorde the samples and they matched the barcodes of genomic databases in the US. By early June 2016, they were absolutely certain that it was indeed the FAW. The scientists notified the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) about new pest, and with their consent, made this information public by publishing it in a journal<\/a> in October 2016. It took 16 months from when the paper was published to the first major outbreak on the continent. \u201cThe first outbreaks were seasonal and contained. However, we knew that this would be a long-lasting problem\u2014when the fall armyworm gets a foothold on the continent, there is nothing you can do to stop it because it\u2019s a migratory insect, which can fly over 50 km per night. That explains how such a tiny insect can colonize an entire continent in a short time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While FAO decided to take an active role in coordinating partners’ activities and plans to provide sustainable solutions to the FAW challenge, a series of awareness workshops organized by IITA, CIMMYT, and USAID were conducted in various western, eastern, and southern African countries. It soon became clear that there is no single solution to control the new pest, which called for an Integrated Pest Management approach. At IITA, efforts currently include biological control using natural enemies and developing biopesticides, advocacy and awareness raising, the development of an App for early detection of FAW by farmers as well as breeding for resistance in support of efforts led by CIMMYT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2018, the outcry from farmers was less vibrant than the two preceding years, so one can wonder why? \u201cFAW is still with us but is less pervasive as initially conditions for outbreaks were particularly conducive. Today moth populations are still important, but farmers no longer panic when their maize is damaged and have learned from past seasons how to minimize damage.\u201d However, both Kumar and Georg agree on one thing, \u201cThe fall armyworm is bound to stay and become a lasting threat in the newly invaded regions. We need to use an integrated pest management strategy. Pesticide application is one of them, but it Isn\u2019t it interesting how seemingly unrelated events in two countries can lead to the same outcome? The story of identifying the fin Africa is as intriguing as the pest itself.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":13624,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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is not sustainable. Not all farmers can afford pesticides since they are expensive and if used excessively, they induce pesticide resistance, destroy the environment, kill beneficial insects, and make our food unsafe since overuse leads to pesticide residue in food. Pesticides should be used only when necessary, we should look at environmentally compatible options like biocontrol\u2014the use of natural enemies,\u201d Georg advises.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"