As one of the severe cross-border migratory
pests in China, fall armyworms have now spread to 18 of China’s provinces
including regions and municipalities, with over 1.273 thousand hectares (19.1
thousand mu) of land suffering from the damage. It was first detected in the
southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi in early January. The pest originally comes from Southeast Asian countries.
Fall armyworms, which have strong fertility
and eat various crops, migrate quickly and infest widely. As a result, it is difficult
to keep control of them. They have now been damaging corn, sugarcane, circus
fruits, bananas and other types of food in China, which “severely threatens the
agriculture and grain production security of China,” the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural affairs (MOA) said.
The
MOA decides on 25 pesticides and supervision to fight the fall armyworms
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
affairs had announced a statement on solving the problem of fall armyworms with
appropriate pesticides on its website on 3 June. 25 pesticides for emergency
use were recommended to deal with the problem of armyworms in 18 provinces. Furthermore,
they asked local authorities to guide farmers in the use of these products in
terms of local conditions. Chlorfenapyr, acephate and other pesticides were
mentioned in the statement. The emergency use of these pesticides to combat
armyworms will last until the end of next year, the ministry said.
The statement also mentions to strengthen
the control of emergency pesticide products. The local agricultural departments
should supervise enterprises, strengthening casual inspections, and impose
relevant punishment in accordance of the law on those which commit illegal acts
such as selling fake insecticide products so as to ensure the quality of these
products.
The statement also emphasizes to enhance
the monitoring and early warning system for fall armyworms and provide more
training classes for farmers. Guidance should be offered on the spot so that
farmers have a chance of learning how to choose an appropriate pesticide
product according to the circumstances. Farmers also need to pay more attention
to the crops with pesticides. Once they find that the crops are growing
unhealthy under the treatment of pesticides, they have to report it to the
local agricultural department.
Latin
America sees acephate as the most successful pesticide against the fall
armyworms
Cures for fall armyworms can also be found
in Latin America, Africa and India, regions where farmers continuously become
victims of these destructive pests. In Latin America, one of the most effective
pesticides has proven to be acephate, which is also listed in the statement
this time as one of the 25 pesticides to combat armyworms.
Practical results in Latin America show
that acephate, commonly used as one of the ingredients in most traditional
pesticides, can actively prevent armyworms from damaging vast farmlands. Only
1.12 kilograms should be applied in each hectare of land.
In China, acephate is often a composition of
many pesticides on the market and other advantage of acephate is that it can be
used safely. Additionally, using chlorantraniliprole and novaluron as
pesticides is also good to fight against fall armyworms. According to some
research, applying 0.88 kilograms of novaluron in each hectare of land for
seven days is as effective as using acephate.
For more information about China's crop market, please have a look at our monthly newsletter Crop Protection China Monthly Report.