Invasive armyworm: The need for integrated pest management

JOEL, a prophet of Judah in 800 B.C painted a picture of invasive insect pest in the land of Judah as judgment of God upon children of Judah. Therefore, the history of invasive insect pest dated back to years before the advent of Christ.

Prophet Joel said “That which the palmer worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath caterpillar eaten”(Joel 1:4KJV). “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you” (Joel 2:25KJV).

The immature stages or larva of insect pest are referred to as caterpillar. They are the ones that normally devour the crops.  Joel called them “God’s great army” sent as judgment among his people. Therefore, insect pests as “armyworm” have been fighting against food security for ages. In 2016, the fall armyworm invaded Africa and Asia beginning from Nigeria.

Probably, Fall armyworm are more devastating because it is holometabolous  insect  that undergo  an extreme or complete form of metamorphosis with an intercalated pupa stage between larva and adult.  Organs and tissues of holometabolous are extremely remodeled and in some cases completely rebuilt.  Unlike insects that are hemimetabolous in which the eggs hatch to nymphs (larva) and from nymphs to adult.  The larva stages of holometabolous are more devastating and are gregarious as army especially fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda).  The insects generally have their bodies divided into three parts- the head, the thorax and the abdomen.

The thorax is further divided into the three segments called prothorax, mesothorax and metathorax which may be fused.  Insects also have jointed appendages and the body is covered with cuticle.

The study of bionomics of insects shows that insect because of cuticle and other adaptable features are able to develop resistance to pesticides.  There is tendency for farmers to increase the dosage of pesticides or change to a more “powerful” pesticide.  All these contribute to environmental and health hazards.

This is the reason for advocacy for Integrated Pest Management (IPM).  IPM is the use of all control methods in environmental and ecological balanced approach.

However, instead of using synthetic pesticides, crude extracts of plants like Andrographis paniculata (king’s bitters), leaves of Spondia mombin (Iyeye), Gliricidia sepium (Agunmaniye), Spondia purpurea (Iyeye oyinbo), Leucaena leucocephala leaves(Iyan ewure),   Stachytarpheta cayennensis , Calotropis  procera (Bomubomu), Erythrophleum africana, Senna occidentalis (rere), Jatropha curcas (Lapalapa/botuje), Sida cordifolia (Olosapetu/Oseketu), Balanites aegyptica, Ricinus communis (castor oil plant), and Prosopis obloga, Codiaeum variegatum, and Nictotiana tabacum leaves(taba).

• Dr. Timothy Ajiboye is an Entomologist, a biodiversity conservation expert and a striga management specialist and Principal Investigator of KAFACI Fall armyworm Integrated Pest Management project (IPM) in Nigeria. He works with National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), Moor Plantation, Apata, Ibadan.

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