Fall Armyworm : Invasive Agricultural Pest | UPSC
HEADLINES:
Fall armyworm bane back in Bihar’s maize-growing eastern districts
WHY IN NEWS:
More than 2,000 hectares of maize affected by FAW attacks in Madhpeura district alone
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Invasive Species
ISSUE:
FALL ARMYWORM ATTACK
- The FAW attack has been reported from the state’s eastern districts such as Madhepura, Purnia, Bhagalpur, Saharsa and Khagaria.
- Madhepura experiences floods every year, as a result of which most farmers have started growing maize instead of paddy.
- More than 2,000 hectares where maize was cultivated has been affected by the FAW in Madhepura.
- The eastern region of Bihar is popularly known as the ‘maize hub’ where the crop is cultivated in around two lakh hectares of land.
CONCERNS
- The average annual crop production has been around 22 lakh tonnes, but in 2019, around 40 per cent of total maize crops were reportedly destroyed by FAW.
- The unrestricted use of highly toxic pesticide resulted in the deaths of crows in 2020.
FALL ARMYWORM (FAW)
- Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a dangerous transboundary insect.
- It has a high potential to spread rapidly due to its natural distribution capacity and opportunities presented by international trade.
Fall Armyworm : Invasive Agricultural Pest | UPSC
DISTRIBUTION
- FAW has spread across all of sub-Saharan Africa, the Near East and Asia.It will likely soon be present in southern Europe.
- An adult can fly up to a hundred kilometers in a single night.
- Since its arrival in West Africa at the beginning of 2016, FAW has reached most African countries.
- It has also spread further to the Near East and to more than a dozen Asian countries, including China, India and Japan, and has been reported in Australia, Mauritania and Timor Leste.
THREAT
- FAW is a resident pest and once it has arrived in a country, it is there to stay.
- Farmers need significant support to manage FAW sustainably in their cropping systems through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) activities.
- FAW cannot be eliminated.
- In its caterpillar stage, it can cause significant damage to plants unless there is natural control, good agronomic practices or resistant varieties in place.
- The most direct impact of these losses hits smallholder maize farmers, most of whom rely on the crop to stave off hunger and poverty.
ORIGIN
- Fall armyworm (FAW) is a moth native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas that has now spread globally.
- FAO has launched a Global Action for FAW Control as a response to the international threat that FAW is posing for food security and the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers.
GLOBAL ACTION
- FAO has developed a new three-year Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control to ensure a strong coordinated approach at country, regional and global levels.
The Global Action has three key objectives:
- Reduce crop losses due to FAW by 5 percent in all demonstration countries and 10 percent in the pilot countries,
- Decrease the risk of further spread and infestation in countries with limited presence of the pest, and
- Establish a coordination mechanism at global, regional and national levels.
SUSTAINABLE PEST MANAGEMENT PRACTISES
- FAO has been working with many partners to identify, validate, and support the use of sustainable pest management practices for FAW.
Key approaches include:
- The use of different agronomic practices such as push and pull
- Development of host plant resistance varieties
- Identification of less toxic pesticides and effective bio-pesticides
- Conservation and augmentation of natural enemies for biological control.
- Such approaches also include the use of safe, locally-available controls, and strengthened monitoring and surveillance for early detection and research.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- FAO’s new global initiative aims to mobilize USD 500 million over 2020–22 to take radical, direct and coordinated measures to strengthen prevention and sustainable pest control capacities at a global level.
SOURCES: DownToEarth | Fall Armyworm : Invasive Agricultural Pest | UPSC
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