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Alarm as deadly maize pest seen in Karnataka
News:
⦁ ICAR discovered a deadly foreign maize pest in Karnataka.
Important facts:
⦁ Recently, the ICAR discovered invasive agricultural pest Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in Karnataka.
⦁ This is the first report of the pest in Asia.
⦁ Since then, it has threatened the continent’s maize crop.
⦁ First reported in Central and Western Africa in 2016, it has spread to 44 African countries presently.
⦁ In India, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are at immediate risk.
⦁ The confirmation of presence of this deadly pest came through DNA barcoding at Begaluru’s Indian Institute of Horticultural Research.
⦁ The discovery is more worrisome because the pest feeds on around 100 different crops, such as vegetables, rice and sugarcane.
⦁ The first line of defence against the Fall Armyworm will be insecticides like lambdacyhalothrin.
⦁ Researchers have found some natural predators such as coccinellid beetles that can aid biological control.
⦁ A fungal species called Nomuraea rileyi also infects the Fall Armyworm.
⦁ Africa’s experience shows that pest can colonise a new continent very quickly.
