- Integrated pest control method most effective
Integrated method
Weligamage noted that after the first incident of fall armyworm attacks on crops were reported in 2018, HORDI, along with their affiliated university agriculture faculties, conducted research in a plantation located in Hasalaka during the 2019/20 Maha season. For research purposes, the team of scientists had planted 100 maize plants in a test area and later randomly picked 25 for observation. “We counted the number of predators that would prey on caterpillars in these plants on five occasions, testing every two weeks from two to 10 weeks of age. The team identified that there were natural predators that feed off the fall armyworms in different stages. They ranged from bugs to birds that are naturally found in our environment, and what we also observed was that when farmers spray pesticides over the entire cultivation, most of these predators do not visit them to destroy the fall armyworm,” Weligamage explained. He also pointe
Crop damages under control
When asked whether the crop damage is far less than it was in the 2018/2019 period, Weligamage stated that while the fall armyworm will not be completely eradicated in Sri Lanka any time soon, when the integrated method of control is applied, its population can be considerably reduced.