Early detection of sources of resistance to the fall armyworm in some tropically-adapted maize varieties in Southern Nigeria

Abstract

he outbreak of fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, in Nigeria since 2016 had caused serious socio-economic problem to farmers. Twenty maize varieties adapted to the agro-ecologies of Nigeria were evaluated in five environments to identify varieties with resistance to the FAW for possible improvement and deployment. The evaluations were under artificial and natural infestation between 2017 and 2018. Data were collected weekly after infestation on severity and incidence of FAW and plant height. All trials were terminated at six weeks after sowing. Varieties SUWAN 1 SR, BR LNTP-Y C6, AMA TZBR-W C4 and TZBR ELD 4 C2 are good sources of resistance to FAW which could be used in improvement program

Keywords

• crop improvement
• fall armyworm
• insect infestation
• maize
• pest resistance
• Africa