2026 Vol-6 Issue-1 | COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF BIO-RATIONALAND SYNTHETIC INSECTICIDES WITHIN THRESHOLD-BASED IPM FOR FALLARMYWORM MANAGEMENT AND MAIZE YIELD IN ABUJA, NIGERIA

The threat of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) to maize production in Nigeria is alsogrowing, and the use of full-rate synthetic insecticides brings ecological and resistanceissues. This research study compared bio-rational, synthetic insecticide, and IntegratedPest Management (IPM) systems in the management of FAW, canopy growth, and yield ofmaize in Abuja, Nigeria. It was performed as a Randomized Complete Block Design(RCBD) with four replications (2024-2025), and the incidence of the larvae, the damage tothe leaf, the canopy, and the yield of the plant were measured. Bio-rational and synthetictreatments had a significant effect in reducing the larval density and leaf damage comparedto the control (p ≤ 0.05). The yield of grains in the presence of Bacillus thuringiensis (3.95 t-1 -1 ha ) was statistically similar to that of chlorpyrifos (4.05 t ha ), and the highest yield was-1 4.35 t ha with λ-cyhalothrin. Treated plot yield gains were between 78 and 107 percent of-1 the control (2.10 t ha ). It should be noted that bio-rational treatments have been shown togive equivalent results in the field; this showed that even less risky options can giveagronomic performance that is statistically equivalent to that of conventional chemistries.However, this experiment was conducted in a single agroecological area and would have tobe multi-locationally validated prior to making general policy suggestions. These resultsindicate that bio-rational insecticides could be an effective part of threshold-based IPMstrategies in the sustainable production of maize in Nigeria.