Bio-pesticides and farmer scouting for Fall Armyworm management

Transcription

1 Bio-pesticides and farmer scouting for Fall Armyworm management Manuele Tamò IITA-Benin, Cotonou, Benin on behalf of several collaborators

2 FAW is here to stay, we need to act quickly

3 FAW damage in West Africa 77,79 19,44 2,77 a) Field size < 1 ha 22,22 22,22 55,56 b) Field size 1-3 ha Negligible Moderate Severe Negligible Moderate 75,87 Severe Ouémé Plateau - Maize farmer survey and Field sampling to estimate damage by FAW in farmers interviewed - In two major maize production districts Ouémé (valley): 6 42'N, 2 29'E 79,03 Plateau: 7 21'N, 2 36'E c) Field size > 3 ha 6,89 17,24 3,23 17, Negligible Moderate Severe Negligible Moderate Severe 70,38 Ouémé Plateau 29, Negligible Moderate Severe Negligible Moderate Severe Ouémé Plateau

4 Pesticides can control FAW but Active ingredients applied by farmers against FAW 1% 8% 4% 3% Azadirachtin Emamectin 47% 28% 1% 8% Chlorpyrifos Cypermethrin Lambda-cyhalothrin Lambda-cyhalothrin + Acetamiprid Dichlorvos Organochloride

5 Pesticides in Africa: challenges at several levels Policy: Pesticide legislations do exist, but their enforcement is difficult Unregulated market, cheap imports from Asia of doubtful quality Permeability of borders Sprayer/farmer: Protective equipment: availability, affordability, tropical weather Pesticide retailer is the village scientist Lack of technical knowledge Consumer: Pesticide residues no widespread local testing infrastructures Post-harvest pesticides Environment: Ground water contamination Pesticide resistance, including in disease vectors Pollinators Natural enemies

6 Bt FAW resistance management: current situation in the USA - Effective pyramids currently in use in the USA Cry1A.105 x Cry2Ab2 Cry1A.105 x Cry2Ab2 x Cry1F Cry1Ab x Vip3Aa20 Cry1Ab x Cry1F x Vip3Aa : screening found no resistance alleles for Vip3Aa20 (Huang et al. 2013) : Resistance alleles for Vip3Aa20 now detected in the USA, with cross resistance to Cry1F, Cry2Ab2, and Cry2A (Yang et al. unpubl.) - Not uncommon to spray up to 25 times in peak cropping season

7 FAW management approaches in Africa: biopesticide research at IITA Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV) Host specific, long soil persistence, very low nontarget risks Commercial product released in Americas: AgBiTech, CartuchoVIT IITA has already 4 isolates from Mexico, Nicaragua, USA and Argentina for testing Production of own biopesticides at smallholder level Beauveria bassiana Testing the endophytic potential of preserved isolates as seed dressing/foliar applications against FAW

8 Research progress Screening SfMNPV strains OB concentration: ,0% 80,0% Larval mortality 60,0% 40,0% 20,0% Control SfNPV-ARG SfNPV-UNAL SfNPV-FX SfNPV-NIC 0,0% Days after inoculation

9 Research progress Screening SfMNPV strains OB concentration: ,0% 80,0% Larval mortality 60,0% 40,0% 20,0% Control SfNPV-ARG SfNPV-UNAL SfNPV-FX SfNPV-NIC 0,0% Days after inoculation

10 Locally-made bio-pesticides Egg parasitoids Trichogrammatoidea eldanae Neem oil made in Benin Community-based production of insect-specific baculoviruses Long history of product development, can be produced locally in West Africa, providing additional income to disadvantaged groups such as women and youth

11 Research progress Field testing of biorationals Response: Choice1 Seed weight

12 Properties Partnering with the private sector Evaluation of Eradicoat T, a bio-rational pesticide against FAW Eradicoat T is a broad spectrum botanical insecticide, effective against a range of soft-bodied insect pests, as well as spider mites. It is a natural organic plant extract composed of a polymer, vegetable oil extracts and water (Certis Europe, 2013). Its active ingredient is Maltodextrin, a polysaccharide. It is fast acting, has no pre-harvest interval and no residues. Eradicoat has a physical mode of action, blocking the spiracles of the pest leading to suffocation. The maximum effect will normally be seen within 2-4 hours after application. There is no known insect resistance to Eradicoat T.

13 Evaluation of the appropriateness of the use of Eradicoat T as an effective component of IPM of FAW IITA and PASL/Certis Europe have signed an agreement to determine the following: Efficacy of Eradicoat T on various developmental stages of FAW including eggs How well does it compare with other bio-rationals? Determining appropriate dosages to ascertain how affordable could it be to the small scale resource poor farmer? What should be the best mode of application? Can Eradicoat T complement biological control in an integrated management of FAW?

14 But how do low-literacy farmers know/learn when is the best time to take action against FAW?

15 Fall Armyworm Monitoring & Early Warning System Standard protocols (Guidance Notes) Mobile app (FAMEWS) Global platform (FAMEWS)

16 FIELD SCOUTING Start End 10 plants 10 plants 10 plants 10 plants 10 plants for smallholder farmers (<2ha) 1. walk in W transect 2. inspect 10 plants in a row at 5 places (stations) in the field 3. count plants with recent damage to leaf or whorl or visible insects 4. ignore plants with older damage only 5. look for natural enemies

17 PHEROMONE TRAPS pheromone

18 FAMEWS GLOBAL PLATFORM (beta)

19 Linking bio-pesticides to farmer scouting: prototype Farmer Interface Application (FIA) With funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and in collaboration with Michigan State University, IITA has developed a prototype smartphone-based FIA to help farmers identify and prevent insect pest attacks on their crops, using the cowpea pod borer as a case study

20 How does FIA work? Users navigate in the FIA through symbols as action buttons. Provision for voice commands in local languages for certain actions or required inputs Integrates short educational/training animation videos developed by MSU/SAWBO (Scientific Animations Without Borders), which will display in local languages 1) how the FIA works; 2) some basic aspects of pest biology and ecology, including recognition of life stages and damage symptoms; 3) when and how to scout; 4) when and how to take appropriate protection measures, e.g. spraying bio-pesticides.

21 How does FIA work? Integrates a scouting algorithm guiding the farmer with voice commands in local language how to move randomly in the field and to check a number of crop plants, inspect them for pests (or damage symptoms), and press the right symbol to record presence/absence of the pest. This will allow the FIA, independently from being connected to the internet, to calculate an intervention threshold and allow the farmer to make an informed decision about protective measures.

22 Prototype Farmer Interface Application for FAW IPM

23 Spraying at the right time!!!

24 Next steps: FIA connected to VIPS The current prototype FIA is currently being upgraded to allow for collecting real-time and georeferenced field data (e.g., plant phenology and incidence of pests) and transmitting them to the VIPS platform developed by Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy NIBIO ( to make use of the VIPS expert system for implementing IPM with support of real-time weather data and pest models.

25 How does FIA work? Current prototype Insect survey and barcode data Climate Data GIS Data Expert System e.g. VIPS platform Local Servers or simple text code to inform FIA decision tree or to obtain information or both Expert User Interface Smartphonebased FIA

26 Developing robust farmer scouting system connecting FIA to VIPS in West Africa Integrating a Farmer Interface App (FIA) to a Pest Forecast Tool (VIPS)

27 Our strategy for long-term management of FAW in Africa Early warning & rapid response, Citizen science & ICT tools Safe crop protection products including costeffective biopesticides and biorationals Biological control Host plant tolerance Genetic studies of FAW populations EWRR Biopesticide BioControl HP Tolerance

28 Thank you!