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Q&A ViewAttendees 4

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

10-Minute Paper

P-IE: IPM - Field Crops

Mating disruption for integrated management of fall armyworm in maize in Mexico

Tuesday, November 2, 2021
3:06 PM – 3:18 PM MT
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Meeting Room 102-106
In-Person
Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is the primary insect pest of maize in Mexico. Although non-chemical control alternatives are available, most farmers rely mostly in insecticide sprays for fall armyworm control.  The use of pheromones for mating disruption could be a novel and reliable alternative for fall armyworm management. We conducted wide area trials in three Mexican states, Sinaloa, Guanajuato, and Jalisco between 2018 and 2021 to evaluate the efficacy of mating disruption in farmers’ fields. The pheromone was distributed in 5 x 10 cm plastic dispensers at 2.5 g AI/dispenser. Ninety-two trials each with one treated and one untreated plot varying from 5 to 100 ha were set up during the three seasons.  Mating disruption was estimated as the proportionate reduction of males captured weekly in modified bucket traps with commercially available lures in treated versus untreated fields. Lured-baited traps were uniformly set every 2 ha. Dispensers were placed at densities of 30 – 50 per ha, MD was achieved at, or above 90% (90.2% median and 85.3% - 94.3%, central 95% CI) for 90-100 days after planting for all densities. Larval Infestation levels were reduced up to 47% in some seasons and foliar damage up to 23%. Grain yields were maintained or increased in 72% of the 92 trials. Farmers reduced between 35 and 50% insecticide sprays targeting fall armyworm. Mating disruption using Provivi® pheromone dispensers is a new and valuable tool for farmers in Mexico, when used as part of an IPM program