Paper · 2025 · Journal of Entomological Research

Sunnhemp as an alternative to silverleaf desmodium in push-pull systems for fall armyworm management in sweet maize

Kervin Can; Tsui-Ying Chang; Lekhnath Kafle; et al.

11
claims
26
verbatim quotes
0
citations
2
research areas
—
Not open access

Abstract

AbstractThis study evaluated the effectiveness of two companion cropping systems maize + silverleaf desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum) and maize + sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea) against fall armyworm in sweet maize, compared to a biopesticide treatment (maize + Bacillus thuringiensis) and conventional maize monoculture. Both intercrops significantly reduced larval abundance, plant infestation, leaf damage, and egg mass numbers compared to the monoculture. The silverleaf desmodium intercrop showed the lowest infestation (6.8 ± 0.9%), while sunnhemp performed comparably, indicating strong “push” effects against ovipositing moths. Egg mass counts were highest in the monoculture, suggesting altered oviposition behavior in the intercrops. Yield and ear quality greatly improved in the intercropped systems, with maize + silverleaf desmodium (5.02 t ha-1) and maize + sunnhemp (4.9 t ha-1) outperforming the monoculture by 9.7 and 7.3%, respectively. Principal component analysis confirmed clear separation among systems, linking reduced pest pressure to higher yield. These findings demonstrate that leguminous companion cropping systems offer sustainable, ecologically-based alternatives to insecticide-dependent fall armyworm management while improving crop performance in sweet maize production systems.

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The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.

Claims 11

Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

Silverleaf desmodium intercrop reduced fall armyworm larval abundance, infestation and leaf damage relative to monoculture.

Taxon
sweet maizet0
Treatment
maize + silverleaf desmodiume0
Interactor
fall armywormSpodoptera frugiperdat0pest
Second interactor
silverleaf desmodiume0other
Outcome
larval abundance, plant infestation, leaf damagee1
Direction
reducede1
Comparator
the monoculturee1

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Spodoptera frugiperda
Spodoptera frugiperda · InteractorUSGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“fall armyworm management in sweet maize”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 76–115 · show in text ↑
e0

“maize + silverleaf desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 81–131 · show in text ↑
e1

“Both intercrops significantly reduced larval abundance, plant infestation, leaf damage, and egg mass numbers compared to the monoculture.”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 317–454 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

Sunnhemp intercrop reduced fall armyworm larval abundance, infestation and leaf damage relative to monoculture.

Taxon
sweet maizet0
Treatment
maize + sunnhempe0
Interactor
fall armywormSpodoptera frugiperdat0pest
Second interactor
sunnhempCrotalaria junceae0other
Outcome
larval abundance, plant infestation, leaf damagee1
Direction
reducede1
Comparator
the monoculturee1

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Spodoptera frugiperda
Spodoptera frugiperda · InteractorUSGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗
Crotalaria juncea
Crotalaria juncea · Second interactorA16898 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“fall armyworm management in sweet maize”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 76–115 · show in text ↑
e0

“maize + sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 136–172 · show in text ↑
e1

“Both intercrops significantly reduced larval abundance, plant infestation, leaf damage, and egg mass numbers compared to the monoculture.”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 317–454 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

Silverleaf desmodium intercrop reduced fall armyworm egg mass numbers relative to monoculture.

Taxon
sweet maizet0
Treatment
maize + silverleaf desmodiume0
Interactor
fall armywormSpodoptera frugiperdat0pest
Second interactor
silverleaf desmodiume0other
Outcome
egg mass numberse1
Direction
reducede1
Comparator
the monoculturee1

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Spodoptera frugiperda
Spodoptera frugiperda · InteractorUSGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“fall armyworm management in sweet maize”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 76–115 · show in text ↑
e0

“maize + silverleaf desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 81–131 · show in text ↑
e1

“Both intercrops significantly reduced larval abundance, plant infestation, leaf damage, and egg mass numbers compared to the monoculture.”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 317–454 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

Sunnhemp intercrop reduced fall armyworm egg mass numbers relative to monoculture.

Taxon
sweet maizet0
Treatment
maize + sunnhempe0
Interactor
fall armywormSpodoptera frugiperdat0pest
Second interactor
sunnhempCrotalaria junceae0other
Outcome
egg mass numberse1
Direction
reducede1
Comparator
the monoculturee1

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Spodoptera frugiperda
Spodoptera frugiperda · InteractorUSGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗
Crotalaria juncea
Crotalaria juncea · Second interactorA16898 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“fall armyworm management in sweet maize”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 76–115 · show in text ↑
e0

“maize + sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 136–172 · show in text ↑
e1

“Both intercrops significantly reduced larval abundance, plant infestation, leaf damage, and egg mass numbers compared to the monoculture.”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 317–454 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Silverleaf desmodium intercrop had the lowest infestation at 6.8 ± 0.9%.

Taxon
sweet maizet0
Treatment
silverleaf desmodium intercrope0
Interactor
fall armywormSpodoptera frugiperdat0pest
Outcome
infestatione0
Direction
loweste0
Value
6.8 ± 0.9%e0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Spodoptera frugiperda
Spodoptera frugiperda · InteractorUSGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“fall armyworm management in sweet maize”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 76–115 · show in text ↑
e0

“The silverleaf desmodium intercrop showed the lowest infestation (6.8 ± 0.9%)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 455–532 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Sunnhemp performed comparably to desmodium for infestation.

Taxon
sweet maizet0
Treatment
sunnhempe0
Interactor
fall armywormSpodoptera frugiperdat0pest
Outcome
sunnhemp performed comparablye0
Direction
comparablye0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Spodoptera frugiperda
Spodoptera frugiperda · InteractorUSGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“fall armyworm management in sweet maize”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 76–115 · show in text ↑
e0

“sunnhemp performed comparably, indicating strong “push” effects against ovipositing moths”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 540–629 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultnegativemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Egg mass counts were highest in maize monoculture.

Taxon
sweet maizet0
Treatment
the monoculturee0
Interactor
fall armywormSpodoptera frugiperdat0pest
Outcome
Egg mass countse0
Direction
higheste0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Spodoptera frugiperda
Spodoptera frugiperda · InteractorUSGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“fall armyworm management in sweet maize”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 76–115 · show in text ↑
e0

“Egg mass counts were highest in the monoculture”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 631–678 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Desmodium intercrop yielded 5.02 t ha-1, 9.7% above monoculture.

Taxon
sweet maizet0
Treatment
maize + silverleaf desmodiume0
Outcome
Yielde0
Direction
outperforminge0
Value
5.02 t ha-1e0
Qualifier
9.7e0
Comparator
the monoculturee0

Verbatim

t0

“sweet maize”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 104–115 · show in text ↑
e0

“Yield and ear quality greatly improved in the intercropped systems, with maize + silverleaf desmodium (5.02 t ha-1) and maize + sunnhemp (4.9 t ha-1) outperforming the monoculture by 9.7 and 7.3%, respectively.”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 739–949 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Sunnhemp intercrop yielded 4.9 t ha-1, 7.3% above monoculture.

Taxon
sweet maizet0
Treatment
maize + sunnhempe0
Outcome
Yielde0
Direction
outperforminge0
Value
4.9 t ha-1e0
Qualifier
7.3%e0
Comparator
the monoculturee0

Verbatim

t0

“sweet maize”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 104–115 · show in text ↑
e0

“Yield and ear quality greatly improved in the intercropped systems, with maize + silverleaf desmodium (5.02 t ha-1) and maize + sunnhemp (4.9 t ha-1) outperforming the monoculture by 9.7 and 7.3%, respectively.”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 739–949 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Ear quality improved in intercropped sweet maize systems.

Taxon
sweet maizet0
Treatment
intercropped systemse0
Outcome
ear qualitye0
Direction
greatly improvede0

Verbatim

t0

“sweet maize”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 104–115 · show in text ↑
e0

“Yield and ear quality greatly improved in the intercropped systems”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 739–805 · show in text ↑
Associationobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Principal component analysis separated systems and linked lower pest pressure with higher yield.

Taxon
sweet maizet0
Interactor
fall armywormSpodoptera frugiperdat0pest
Outcome
yielde0
Direction
highere0
Qualifier
reduced pest pressuree0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Spodoptera frugiperda
Spodoptera frugiperda · InteractorUSGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

t0

“fall armyworm management in sweet maize”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 76–115 · show in text ↑
e0

“Principal component analysis confirmed clear separation among systems, linking reduced pest pressure to higher yield.”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 950–1067 · show in text ↑

Crotalaria juncea · yield · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results

30 papers: 27 positive, 3 negative or no effect

26 papers in the same direction as this paper · 3 in the opposite direction

  1. negative
  2. negative
  3. negative

26 papers more in this group

See all 30 papers →

Crotalaria juncea · Spodoptera frugiperda · Zea mays (maize)Results agree

2 papers: 2 positive, 0 negative or no effect

1 paper in the same direction as this paper

  1. positive
See all 2 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.