armyworm Archives - IITA News

Harnessing insect biodiversity for sustainable plant health in tropical Africa

Fall armyworm (FAW), a ravaging pest of the maize plant, is spreading globally. Every year, Africa, Asia, and the Near East lose 80 million tons of maize worth US$18 billion to the damaging effects of FAW. Georg Goergen, IITA Entomologist and Biocontrol Specialist based in Cotonou, highlighted past and ongoing efforts to control the spread…

IITA Cameroon hosts training on managing fall armyworm

IITA-Cameroon hosted an international training of trainers’ workshop on Fall armyworm management at its campus in Yaoundé, on 2–7 October. The workshop was co-organized by IITA-Cameroon and FAO’s subregional office in Central Africa. The fall armyworm (FAW), an invasive insect species originating from tropical and subtropical Americas, is spreading rapidly in sub-Saharan African where it…

Picture of Armyworm invades and causes severe yield loss for many crops of economic importance.

CNN report features IITA scientist

Last month, CNN reported on “Armyworm invasion destroys crops in southern Africa” which featured Georg Goergen, IITA’s entomologist. The report highlighted the destructive potential of the new invasive species that was recognized early by Goergen following its initial detection in West Africa and focused on the spread of the fall armyworm and the havoc the…

First report of outbreaks of the “Fall Armyworm” on the African continent

Following severe armyworm outbreaks in maize fields occurring simultaneously in several countries of West and Central Africa, the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)—an alien, invasive moth native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas—has been detected for the first time on the African continent. First observations on armyworm attacks attributed to…