Abstract
Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith), an economically important pest native to tropical and sub-tropical America has recently invaded Africa, causing substantial damage to maize and other crops. We evaluated functionality of a companion cropping system, ‘climate-adapted push-pull’, developed for control of cereal stemborers in drier agro-ecologies, as an added tool for the management of fall armyworm. The technology comprises intercropping maize with drought-tolerant greenleaf desmodium, Desmodium intortum (Mill.) Urb., and planting Brachiaria cv Mulato II as a border crop around this intercrop. Protection to maize is provided by semiochemicals that are emitted by the intercrop that repel (push) stemborer moths while those released by the border crop attract (pull) them. 250 farmers who had adopted the technology in drier areas of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania were randomly selected for the study during the long rainy season (March-August) of 2017. Each farmer had a set of two plots, a climate-adapted push–pull and a maize monocrop. Data were collected in each plot on the number of fall armyworm larvae on maize, percentage of maize plants damaged by the larvae and maize grain yields. Similarly, farmers' perceptions of the impact of the technology on the pest were assessed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Reductions of 82.7% in average number of larvae per plant and 86.7% in plant damage per plot were observed in climate-adapted push-pull compared to maize monocrop plots. Similarly, maize grain yields were significantly higher, 2.7 times, in the climate-adapted push-pull plots. Farmers rated the technology significantly superior in reducing fall armyworm infestation and plant damage rates. These results demonstrate that the technology is effective in controlling fall armyworm with concomitant maize grain yield increases, and represent the first documentation of a technology that can be immediately deployed for management of the pest in East Africa and beyond.
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Claims 5
Claim · model-written summary
Climate-adapted push-pull plots had 82.7% fewer fall armyworm larvae per maize plant than maize monocrop plots.
- Treatment
- climate-adapted push-pulle0
- Interactor
- Spodoptera frugiperda
.jpg?width=60)
Spodoptera frugiperdat0pest - Outcome
- number of larvae per plante0
- Direction
- Reductionse0
- Value
- 82.7%e0
- Comparator
- maize monocrop plotse0
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“Reductions of 82.7% in average number of larvae per plant and 86.7% in plant damage per plot were observed in climate-adapted push-pull compared to maize monocrop plots.”
t0“fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith), in maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Climate-adapted push-pull plots had 86.7% less maize plant damage than maize monocrop plots.
- Treatment
- climate-adapted push-pulle0
- Interactor
- Spodoptera frugiperdaSpodoptera frugiperdat0pest
- Outcome
- plant damage per plote0
- Direction
- Reductionse0
- Value
- 86.7%e0
- Comparator
- maize monocrop plotse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Reductions of 82.7% in average number of larvae per plant and 86.7% in plant damage per plot were observed in climate-adapted push-pull compared to maize monocrop plots.”
t0“fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith), in maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Maize grain yields were significantly higher, by 2.7 times, in push-pull plots than monocrop plots.
- Treatment
- climate-adapted push-pulle0
- Outcome
- maize grain yieldse0
- Direction
- highere0
- Value
- 2.7 timese0
- Comparator
- maize monocrope1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“maize grain yields were significantly higher, 2.7 times, in the climate-adapted push-pull plots.”
e1“Each farmer had a set of two plots, a climate-adapted push–pull and a maize monocrop.”
Claim · model-written summary
Farmers rated push-pull significantly superior for reducing fall armyworm infestation and plant damage.
- Interactor
- Spodoptera frugiperdaSpodoptera frugiperdat0pest
- Outcome
- fall armyworm infestation and plant damage ratese0
- Direction
- reducinge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Farmers rated the technology significantly superior in reducing fall armyworm infestation and plant damage rates.”
t0“fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith), in maize”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors conclude that push-pull can be immediately deployed for fall armyworm management in East Africa and beyond.
- Interactor
- Spodoptera frugiperdaSpodoptera frugiperdat0pest
- Outcome
- immediately deployed for management of the peste0
- Setting
- East Africa and beyonde0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a technology that can be immediately deployed for management of the pest in East Africa and beyond”
t0“fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith), in maize in East Africa”
The same questions in other papers
climate site · yield · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
101 papers in the same direction as this paper · 73 in the opposite direction · 5 reporting no difference from an alternative
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- positive
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See all 180 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.