Farmers and authorities throughout Asia need to be vigilant against fall armyworm invasions, after confirmation that the fast-moving pest has spread from India to China and now to South-East Asia, agricultural experts say.
Farmers and authorities throughout Asia need to be vigilant against fall armyworm invasions, after confirmation that the fast-moving pest has spread from India to China and now to South-East Asia, agricultural experts say.
The highly destructive moth (Spodoptera frugiperda), native to North and South America, has been steadily moving east since 2016, causing up to US$3 billion worth of damage to maize and other crops in Africa, according to reports. The pest reached India in July last year before hitting Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
“During the last six to seven months, fall armyworm has spread from India to China, and will continue to spread in China. It has reached Myanmar and Thailand and it will also spread to Vietnam sooner or later,” says Hans Dreyer from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“Countries have to be very vigilant but also not panic,” Dreyer, director of the FAO’s plant production and protection division, tells SciDev.Net.
Read more at SciDev.Net
Image: Armyworm (Copyright: CABI)
