Diversification of Corn Agroecosystems as a Means of Regulating Fall Armyworm Populations

Field data from studies in Colombia and Florida involving the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), are presented to illustrate the potential of manipulating plant diversity within crop systems to provide additional safeguards against pest insects. Measurements have been made on FAW damage, larval parasitism, predator abundance and crop yields in different corn cropping systems. There is a great need for further research that is designed to establish the complementarity of a range of crop and weed species in regulating FAW populations in different ecological zones.