Laboratory and field evaluation of new insecticide molecules against fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) on maize

Abstract

Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera) has become a serious pest in maize after its introduction to India. In order to evaluate the efficacy of certain selected newer insecticide molecules both laboratory and field experiments were conducted at Dharwad, Karnataka during 2018. The laboratory results revealed that spinetoram 11.7 SC and emamectin benzoate 5 SG were significantly superior over other treatments with cent per cent mortality at 60 hours after treatment. The field trial also indicated that spinoteram, emamectin benzoate and spinosad 45 SC were significantly superior over all other treatments with the larval reduction of 98.13, 96.26 and 96.26 per cent, respectively at 7 days after treatment imposition. Among other tested molecules, thiamethoaxam 0.25%WG and fipronil 0.5 SC were least effective (68.65 and 73.14% mortality, respectively).