Insecticides like FORTENZA(TM) Duo are allowing to build systemic protection of the crop, using seed coating that keeps maize free of FAW during the early stages of cultivation and foliar spraying that avoids damage to the crop at silking and cob-filling stages.
The larvae of FAW are causing extensive damage to maize crops at all stages of their life cycle by eating the whorl (apex), leaves and cobs, which has led to 50% yield loss and complete failure for farmers on the continent. Infestations of farmlands by the pest are caused by eggs deposited in soil and on plant coming from adult moths that are able to fly and cover large distances. Use of insecticide as a seed treatment offers several advantages compared to foliar applications as the approach makes it possible to apply smaller amounts of the control agent and gets into the soil where eggs of FAW are deposited and hatch.įall armyworms (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, are the caterpillars of an invasive species and have shown a very quick spread across Sub-Saharan Africa since the last few years. Coating of maize seeds with insecticides allows to keep the sowing material and young plants free of pest attacks under both high to low FAW infestation rates, benefiting the crop right from the beginning of the season by enhancing seed survival, germination rates and initial growth stages after planting. A range of insecticide products are marketed on the continent by agro-input suppliers that kill larvae of FAW inside the soil and on the plant including FORTENZA(TM) Duo from Syngenta which is demonstrated to be a powerful control agent for the pest. Chemical control agents for fall armyworms have proven to be highly effective in protecting maize crops from the pest and holding back its rapid spread that is threatening millions of farmers in major production zones across Sub-Saharan Africa.
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