Fall Armyworm (FAW): the South African Experience JH Venter

Fall Armyworm (FAW): The South African Experience JH Venter

Photo: Desiree Heerden

SPS COMMITTEE THEMATIC SESSION ON ENABLING ACCESS TO TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES: FALL ARMYWORM CASE STUDY 19 MARCH 2019 WTO, GENEVA Outline  Acronyms  Regulatory and policy documents  Structure of the National Plant Protection Organisation of South Africa  Fall Armyworm alert in Africa and the firsts positive detections in South Africa  Fall Armyworm Steering Committee and objectives of role players  Decisions and milestones  Occurrence of Fall Armyworm in South Africa  Major hosts of Fall Armyworm in South Africa  Ongoing interventions through the Fall Armyworm Steering Committee  Damage and crop loss in South Africa  Challenges and solutions  Way forward Photo: Desiree Heerden

2 Acronyms • APA: Agricultural Pests Act,1983 (Act No. 36 of 1983) • ARC: Agricultural Research Council • DAFF: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries • FAO: Food and Agricultural Organisation (of the United Nations) • FAW: Fall Armyworm • FAWSC: Fall Armyworm Steering Committee • FAWJOC: FAW Joint Operation Centre • IPPC: International Plant Protection Convention • IRAC: International Resistance Action Group • NWU: North West University • PDA: Provincial Department of Agriculture • SADC: Southern African Development Community • SAEPPRP: South African Emergency Plant Pest Response Plan • SANSOR: South African Seed Organisation

3 Regulatory and policy documents

 Plant Health Policy  Agricultural Pests Act,1983 (Act No. 36 of 1983) or APA  National Control Measures R.110  South African Emergency Plant Pest Response Plan (SAEPPRP)  Specific plant pest contingency or action plans

4 National Plant Protection Organisation of South Africa (NPPOZA)

Plant Health • Policy & Procedures (Executive Officer • Legislation APA) • Pest Action Plans Inspection • Inspection • Surveillance Services(Executive • Execution of Legislation Officer APA) • Diagnostic and Quarantine

Food Import Export • Import permits • WTO SPS Standards • Awareness Promotions

5 FAW alert in Africa

 FAW is a quarantine pest for SA

 DAFF sent an alert out on 17 January 2017 in response to media reports of this pest in Zambia and Zimbabwe

 This prompted farmers to report suspected FAW caterpillars mainly from the Limpopo and North West Provinces

 Caterpillars were collected by various research institutes and kept in captivity

to let them develop to adults Spodoptera frugiperda larvae on maize. Photo: Desiree van Heerden

6 First positive identification in South Africa  Taxonomists at the ARC-PPRI, Biosystematics Division positively identified male moth specimens as the Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E Smith) Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on 03 February 2017

 Morphological identification by dissecting male moth genitalia

 An official national press release was issued by DAFF

 The status of the pest was reported on the International Phytosanitary Male Spodoptera frugiperda adult on maize. Portal (IPP) of the IPPC. Photo: Desiree van Heerden

7 Fall Armyworm Steering Committee Reporting platform FAWSC: DAFF, Industry, Decision makers Research, 9 Determine way forward provinces, FAO

Technical expert DAFF FAWJOC: groups: GrainSA Research Different 9x PROVJOC SANSOR, IRAC, groups: ARC, Directorates in CropLife, NWU etc. DAFF CropWatch etc.

 National Fall Armyworm Steering Committee (FAWSC)  DAFF FAW Joint Operation Centre (FAWJOC)  9 Provincial Joint Operation Centre Committees

8 The objectives of stakeholders in the FAWSC

 DAFF (Coordination of all FAW activities, monitoring, diagnostics, developed the model for management and control of the pest, developed damage assessment tool, awareness, training, pesticide registration, legislation and enforcement)

 Provincial Departments (monitoring, awareness, extension and financial support)

 ARC and Universities (research, diagnostics, training)

 CropLife SA and IRAC (Pesticide companies, registration, resistance monitoring)

 Producer organisations (Grain SA, SANSOR, etc. for monitoring, awareness and training)

 Private companies (monitoring, diagnostics, support)

 FAO (financial and technical support, regional coordination)

9 FAWSC major milestone and/or decisions  National regulatory framework: Control Measures R.449 of the Agricultural Pests Act 1983 (Act No. 36 of 1983).  Diagnostic services: Extended to various entities; the ARC Biosystematics division and DAFF to include also molecular identification.  Train the trainer program: Initialised to train inspectors, extension support personnel to distinguish between FAW and other caterpillars which feeds on maize and sorghum.  Protein test kit: Provincial initiative started to have a field test kid available for smaller instar larvae. Prototype was developed but still not ready for production.  FAW model: Developed as part of the SADC legacy projects.

10 Milestones and decisions continue…  Registration of chemicals: Emergency agricultural chemical registration was initiated and finalised to provide farmers a wide as possible toolkit to combat FAW.  National survey: Pheromone traps in all 9 provinces, worked together with the FAO, scouting and larvae collection.  Data collection and management: Through FAO systems, first through Biosecurity Africa and later FAMEWS both through cell phone applications.  Documentation: Scouting, damage assessment, identification documentation, guideline for registered chemicals, survey protocol, reporting sheets.  Awareness actions: Study groups, extension support meetings, fact sheets developed by ARC in 8 official languages.

11 Occurrence in South Africa

4500 ha affected

300 ha affected

12 Hosts of FAW in South Africa  Predominantly/primary: .Most open pollinated maize varieties including maize for seed production and sweetcorn .Sorghum Occasionally reported on: .Groundnuts .Sunflower .Sugarcane  Occasional hosts are hosts mostly adjacent to maize fields or fields with volunteer maize plants within it  It seems FAW in South Africa only oviposit on maize and sorghum

13 Ongoing interventions from the FAWSC

 National surveillance (DAFF, PDAs, SANSOR, Grain SA)

 Development stage of a diagnostic protein stick that

can identify up to 5 Lepidoptera species

(North West Province)

 Roll out of the awareness program (DAFF, PDAs)

 National coordination of all provincial reporting

and steering committee meetings (DAFF) Photo: Desiree Heerden  Train the trainer program for field diagnostics (DAFF, ARC)

 5 research projects funded by DAFF for FAW (DAFF, ARC)

14 Damage and crop losses in South Africa  Up to 85% localised damage during growth phase of maize and mostly on open pollinated varieties and sweetcorn and household and small scale farmers  South Africa produces mostly Bt maize

which is dryland produced at higher Photo: Desiree Heerden altitudes. Cold winters causes FAW populations to die. No damage reported on Bt maize varieties.  Total maize production: 2016/17=17 million tons (record year) 2017/18=13 million tons (dryer year) Photo: Desiree Heerden

15 Low production loss in South Africa

 In higher altitude maize producing areas no FAW when planted (biggest areas)

 There are over 50 registered chemicals as a control option for the farmers to control FAW. Includes some biologicals also

 DAFF/ Grain SA and SANSOR surveillance programs ensured more early detections

 Early scouting in crop fields by producers

 More trained personnel on morphological and diagnostic capacity

 More awareness documentation available on DAFF website

16 Challenges and some solutions in South Africa  Other maize caterpillar pests caused confusion amongst field workers. Variance within a species high.  A train the trainer program was initialised to train field workers such as scouts, extension support personnel and inspectors how to distinguish between caterpillars https://www.daff.gov.za/daffweb3/News-Room/Media-release/Fallarmy  Sex pheromone not accurate in traps and captures a lot of other moth species. Mostly Leucania loreyi (False Armyworm) and also Agrotis segetum, A. exclamationis, A. spinifera, Autographa gamma, Chilo partellus, Chrysodexis spp., Cornutiplusia circumflexa, Hadena bulgeri, Helicorverpa armigera, Helicoverpa scutuligera, Mythymna loreyi an unidentified Mythimna sp., Proxenus flevirpuncta, Sesamia calamistis and Tycomarptes coniferior. A cell phone application was used to record trap catches in the field but, not always corrected after diagnostic results came back.

 Chemicals only effective if larvae are smaller than 1cm. Larvae too deep into leaf whorl after 4th instar.

17 Way forward

 Scouting is the number one defence against FAW

 Surveillance for early detection (FAMEWS)

 Awareness and training regarding FAW matters

 National damage assessment plan

 Continue pesticides registration and develop IPM Photo: Desiree Heerden  Implement the Control Measures relating to fall armyworm: Government gazette No. 40860: R.449 of 26 May 2017

 Funding (research, surveillance and farmer support) Photo: Desiree Heerden Egg pack and first instar larvae detected after scouting

18 Implications of FAW on Exports from SA  The EU has published emergency import measures, which means that SA now has to comply with specific phytosanitary measures for the following fruits: . Capsicum (Peppers and Chillies) . Momordica (Gourds) . Solanum aethiopicum (Ethiopian eggplant) . Solanum macrocarpon (African eggplant) . Solanum melongena (Eggplant) and also for maize (Zea mays), but only plants, not seeds and grains, or live pollen and plant tissue cultures.

19 CONTACT DETAILS

 National coordinator: Jan Hendrik Venter

 Manager Plant Health Early Warning Systems, Directorate Plant Health

 Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries

 [email protected], +27 12 319 6384

 http://www.nda.agric.za/

20 Thank You