Status and control measures of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) infestations in maize fields in Ethiopia: A review

Despite maize’s current high productivity, higher than other major cereal crops, it is still below its potential, mainly due to many biotic and abiotic factors causing yield losses. The fall armyworm (FAW, Spodoptera frugiperda) is among the major factors which have contributed to the low productivity of maize in Ethiopia since its introduction in February, 2017. Now its infestation covers about 642.2 thousand hectares of which, 640.8 thousand hectares are in 144 districts of six major maize-growing regional states, namely Benishangul-Gumuz, Amhara, Tigray, Gambella, Oromia, and SNNPs (Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples). FAW, a new destructive insect pest, is one of the major problems for agricultural crop production, especially maize in Ethiopia under warm and humid conditions. This is due to its ability to breed rapidly, migrate, and feed on a wide range of host plants, all of which makes it very difficult to control. Nonetheless, there are several ways of managing the pest as reported in other parts of the world that can potentially be adapted and/or validated and used in Ethiopia. Hence, to manage this pest we have to use different management options. Integrated pest management (cultural, chemical, and biological) is commonly used for controlling FAW infestations. Therefore, in this paper, we review the status and control measures of the fall armyworm, which could be useful to improve its management in maize fields in Ethiopia.