Effects of Biorational Approaches and Synthetic Pesticides on Fall Armyworm Management and Arthropod Diversity in Maize
Effects of Biorational Approaches and Synthetic Pesticides on Fall Armyworm Management and Arthropod Diversity in Maize
Ahmad Ibrahim Jalali1, Mudssar Ali1*, Hafiz Mohkum Hammad2,4 and Fawad Zafar Ahmad Khan1,3
ABSTRACT
Fall armyworm has emerged as a major pest of maize in Pakistan. Multiple fall armyworm management options exist, but their consequences for non-target arthropods in Pakistan have been underreported. Keeping in view this gap, current experiments, using the randomized complete block design, compared the effectiveness of synthetic pesticides and biorational options (including dried plant powders and sand mixtures, and eucalyptus based biopesticides) on fall armyworm control, as well as their effects on non-target fauna. The results showed that fall armyworm damage was lowest in synthetic pesticide treatment, followed equally by eucalyptus-based biopesticide, sand mixtures of neem, red pepper, ash and turmeric, while the highest damage was recorded where no management was done. For the occurrence of the non-target arthropods during live observations, ants and whiteflies were significantly higher as compared to other groups. Overall, live observations showed higher arthropod abundance in biorational treatments as compared to synthetic insecticide treatment. The pitfall trapping differences showed significant differences in the insect orders captured. Moreover, the maize yield at the end of the trial was higher in synthetic pesticide treatments (field recommended doses) as compared to the plots managed using biorational approaches. Among biorational options, the yield of sand and mango wood ash mix showed a higher yield. The current evidence is useful for integrating biorational options into fall armyworm management, especially for smallholders.
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