Fall Armyworm in Africa: A GUIDE FOR INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT First Edition Fall Armyworm in Africa: A GUIDE FOR INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT First Edition Editors B.M. Prasanna1 | Joseph E. Huesing2 Regina Eddy2 | Virginia M. Peschke3 in collaboration with international and national research and development partners 1CIMMYT; 2USAID; 3Oakside Editorial Services Feed the Future is America’s initiative to combat global hunger and poverty. Led by USAID and drawing on the support and expertise of multiple U.S. government agencies and departments, Feed the Future brings partners together to help some of the world’s poorest countries harness the power of agriculture and entrepreneurship to jumpstart their economies and create new opportunities. For more information, visit www.feedthefuture.gov. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential. USAID invests in ideas that work to improve the lives of millions of men, women and children by: investing in agricultural productivity so countries can feed their people; combating maternal and child mortality and deadly diseases like HIV, malaria and tuberculosis; providing life-saving assistance in the wake of disaster; promoting democracy, human rights and good governance around the world; fostering private-sector development and sustainable economic growth; helping communities adapt to a changing environment; and elevating the role of women and girls throughout all our work. For more information, visit www.usaid.gov. CIMMYT - The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center - is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies. For more information, visit www.cimmyt.org. The CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE) is an international collaboration led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) that seeks to mobilize global resources in maize R&D to achieve greater impact on maize- based farming systems in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. MAIZE strategy draws upon learning and experiences obtained through decades of extensive partnerships with national and international research and development partners, including both public and private institutions, and farming communities. For more information, visit www.maize.org. © 2018. USAID and CIMMYT. All rights reserved. The designations employed in the presentation of materials in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of USAID or CIMMYT or contributory organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. USAID and CIMMYT encourage fair use of this material. Proper citation is requested. Correct citation: B.M. Prasanna, Joseph E. Huesing, Regina Eddy, Virginia M. Peschke (eds). 2018. Fall Armyworm in Africa: A Guide for Integrated Pest Management, First Edition. Mexico, CDMX: CIMMYT. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in various chapters in this publication are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the official views of USAID, CIMMYT, or other organizations for whom the authors work. January 2018; First Edition Preface The world has seen significant progress in the fight against hunger, undernutrition and extreme poverty, although a lot still remains to be done. At the same time, the emergence and rapid spread of the fall armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda) in Africa seriously threatens the food and income security of millions of smallholder farmers. Given what we know about the pest’s behavior in the Americas and from the early experiences in Africa, shared commitments to reduce poverty and hunger – as expressed by the Sustainable Development Goals, the African Union’s Malabo Declaration and G7 – may be difficult to achieve without concerted and intensive actions at all levels. Within a short span of its introduction in Africa, FAW has been confirmed in over 30 African countries and it is likely to become endemic in many. Its major preference for maize, a staple food for over 300 million African smallholder farm families, poses a threat to food security, nutrition and livelihoods. Given the enormity of the challenge, an effective response requires coordinated action from the broadest possible community – African governments, international and national research institutions, donors, the private sector and civil society. An important foundation for this action must be an understanding of FAW behavior and the management practices that can help smallholder farmers effectively control the pest without damaging human and animal health and the environment. To this end, we convened experts from Africa and around the world in Entebbe, Uganda (Sept 16-17, 2017) to review and identify management options for control of FAW in Africa within an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) framework. This publication, titled Fall Armyworm in Africa: A Guide to Integrated Pest Management, is the result of contributions of dozens of institutions and individuals, to whom we express our deep appreciation. This learning community consisted of experts and practitioners from international and national research and development institutions with extensive experience in pest biology; pest scouting, monitoring and surveillance; biological control; host plant resistance; pesticide risk management; agronomic and landscape management; and IPM strategies. To address the rapid spread of FAW in Africa, we have worked intensively to quickly review and highlight scientifically proven management practices that could be relevant for African farmers, especially smallholders. We intend to revise and release subsequent editions of this FAW IPM Guide, updating the scientific knowledge, management practices, protocols and research findings, as more evidence with regard to efficacy of various FAW management options in Africa emerges. Our approach to the development of this publication is guided by the Rome Principles developed by leaders at the 2009 World Summit on Food Security to guide urgent action to eradicate hunger. In particular, we seek to work in partnership to: • Ensure that scientific evidence and knowledge guides recommendations on FAW management practices and policies. • Foster strategic coordination to align the knowledge, experience and resources of diverse partners, avoid duplication of effort and identify implementation gaps. • Support country-level engagement and ownership of approaches to ensure assistance is tailored to the needs of individual countries and built on consultation with all key stakeholders. • Commit to building capacity, focusing on integrated actions addressing policies, institutions and people, with a special emphasis on smallholders and women farmers. Scope of this FAW IPM Guide This FAW IPM Guide is designed for use by professionals in plant protection organizations, extension agencies, research institutions, and Governments, whose primary focus is smallholder farmers and the seed systems that support them. The FAW IPM Guide is meant to provide an important foundation for the emergence of harmonized FAW pest management protocols that will continue to be informed by research. The guide is also expected to serve as the basis for a series of cascading technical knowledge dissemination materials and social and behavioral change communications that will specifically target the needs of the smallholder farmers in Africa. i Fall Armyworm in Africa: A Guide for Integrated Pest Management The demand for this FAW IPM Guide is high. Therefore, this first edition is meant to provide practitioners with the IPM foundation to successfully manage FAW in Africa. This includes chapters on FAW Pest Biology and Integrated Pest Management, Host Plant Resistance, Biocontrol, and Agroecological Landscape Management. Importantly, the guide provides protocols for Monitoring and Scouting for FAW in maize fields to assess the level of damage due to the pest and to suggest when interventions are warranted. Because the primary technical intervention, at least in the immediate term, is likely to be treatment with synthetic pesticides, a chapter is included on Pesticide Hazard and Risk Assessment and Compatibility with IPM. We recognize that some important topics are still in development and may be provided by other avenues in the short term. For example, we do not make specific pesticide recommendations, per se. The use of a particular pesticide is regulated at the country level and therefore varies by jurisdiction. Country recommendations and label directions must be followed when using pesticides. We do, however, provide generic information on what types of chemical pesticides should be avoided, what could be environmentally safer, and how best to assess pesticide hazards and risks. Further, we have not included information on pesticide application since, in many