Fall Armyworm ( FAW): The South African Experience...Fall Armyworm ( FAW): The South African...
Transcript of Fall Armyworm ( FAW): The South African Experience...Fall Armyworm ( FAW): The South African...
SPS COMMITTEE THEMATIC SESSION ON ENABLING ACCESS TO TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES:FALL ARMYWORM CASE STUDY
19 MARCH 2019WTO, GENEVA
Photo: Desiree Heerden
Fall Armyworm (FAW): The South African Experience
JH Venter
Outline Acronyms Regulatory and policy documents Structure of the National Plant Protection Organisation
of South Africa Fall Armyworm alert in Africa and the firsts positive
detections in South Africa Fall Armyworm Steering Committee and objectives of
role players Decisions and milestones Occurrence of Fall Armyworm in South Africa Major hosts of Fall Armyworm in South Africa Ongoing interventions through the Fall Armyworm
Steering Committee Damage and crop loss in South Africa Challenges and solutions Way forward
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Photo: Desiree Heerden
Acronyms • APA: Agricultural Pests Act,1983 (Act No. 36 of 1983)• ARC: Agricultural Research Council• DAFF: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries • FAO: Food and Agricultural Organisation (of the United Nations)• FAW: Fall Armyworm• FAWSC: Fall Armyworm Steering Committee
• FAWJOC: FAW Joint Operation Centre
• IPPC: International Plant Protection Convention• IRAC: International Resistance Action Group• NWU: North West University• PDA: Provincial Department of Agriculture• SADC: Southern African Development Community• SAEPPRP: South African Emergency Plant Pest Response Plan• SANSOR: South African Seed Organisation
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Regulatory and policy documents
Plant Health PolicyAgricultural Pests Act,1983
(Act No. 36 of 1983) or APANational Control Measures R.110 South African Emergency Plant
Pest Response Plan (SAEPPRP)Specific plant pest contingency or
action plans
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National Plant Protection Organisation of South Africa (NPPOZA)
Plant Health (Executive Officer
APA)
Inspection Services(Executive
Officer APA)
Food Import Export Standards
• Policy & Procedures• Legislation• Pest Action Plans
• Inspection• Surveillance• Execution of Legislation• Diagnostic and Quarantine
• Import permits• WTO SPS• Awareness Promotions
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FAW alert in Africa FAW is a quarantine pest for SA
DAFF sent an alert out on 17 January
2017 in response to media reports of
this pest in Zambia and Zimbabwe
This prompted farmers to report
suspected FAW caterpillars mainly from
the Limpopo and North West Provinces
Caterpillars were collected by various
research institutes and kept in captivity
to let them develop to adults
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Spodoptera frugiperda larvae on maize. Photo: Desiree van Heerden
First positive identification in South Africa Taxonomists at the ARC-PPRI,
Biosystematics Division positively identified male moth specimens as the Fall Armyworm, Spodopterafrugiperda (J.E Smith) Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on 03 February 2017
Morphological identification by dissecting male moth genitalia
An official national press release was issued by DAFF
The status of the pest was reported on the International Phytosanitary Portal (IPP) of the IPPC.
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Male Spodoptera frugiperda adult on maize.Photo: Desiree van Heerden
Fall Armyworm Steering Committee FAWSC: DAFF,
Industry, Research, 9
provinces, FAO
DAFF FAWJOC: Different
Directorates in DAFF
9x PROVJOC
Technical expert groups: GrainSASANSOR, IRAC,
CropLife, CropWatch etc.
Research groups: ARC,
NWU etc.
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National Fall Armyworm Steering Committee (FAWSC)
DAFF FAW Joint Operation Centre (FAWJOC)
9 Provincial Joint Operation Centre Committees
Reporting platformDecision makersDetermine way forward
The objectives of stakeholders in the FAWSC
DAFF (Coordination of all FAW activities, monitoring, diagnostics, developed the
model for management and control of the pest, developed damage assessment
tool, awareness, training, pesticide registration, legislation and enforcement)
Provincial Departments (monitoring, awareness, extension and financial support)
ARC and Universities (research, diagnostics, training)
CropLife SA and IRAC (Pesticide companies, registration, resistance monitoring)
Producer organisations (Grain SA, SANSOR, etc. for monitoring, awareness and
training)
Private companies (monitoring, diagnostics, support)
FAO (financial and technical support, regional coordination)
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FAWSC major milestone and/or decisionsNational regulatory framework: Control Measures R.449 of the
Agricultural Pests Act 1983 (Act No. 36 of 1983).Diagnostic services: Extended to various entities; the ARC
Biosystematics division and DAFF to include also molecularidentification.
Train the trainer program: Initialised to train inspectors,extension support personnel to distinguish between FAW andother caterpillars which feeds on maize and sorghum.
Protein test kit: Provincial initiative started to have a field test kidavailable for smaller instar larvae. Prototype was developed butstill not ready for production.
FAW model: Developed as part of the SADC legacy projects.
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Milestones and decisions continue…Registration of chemicals: Emergency agricultural chemical
registration was initiated and finalised to provide farmers a wideas possible toolkit to combat FAW.
National survey: Pheromone traps in all 9 provinces, workedtogether with the FAO, scouting and larvae collection.
Data collection and management: Through FAO systems, firstthrough Biosecurity Africa and later FAMEWS both through cellphone applications.
Documentation: Scouting, damage assessment, identificationdocumentation, guideline for registered chemicals, surveyprotocol, reporting sheets.
Awareness actions: Study groups, extension support meetings,fact sheets developed by ARC in 8 official languages.
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Occurrence in South Africa
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4500 ha affected
300 ha affected
Hosts of FAW in South AfricaPredominantly/primary: Most open pollinated maize varieties including maize for seed production and sweetcornSorghumOccasionally reported on:GroundnutsSunflowerSugarcane Occasional hosts are hosts mostly adjacent to maize fields or
fields with volunteer maize plants within it It seems FAW in South Africa only oviposit on maize and
sorghum
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Ongoing interventions from the FAWSC National surveillance (DAFF, PDAs, SANSOR, Grain SA)
Development stage of a diagnostic protein stick that
can identify up to 5 Lepidoptera species
(North West Province)
Roll out of the awareness program (DAFF, PDAs)
National coordination of all provincial reporting
and steering committee meetings (DAFF)
Train the trainer program for field diagnostics (DAFF, ARC)
5 research projects funded by DAFF for FAW (DAFF, ARC)
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Photo: Desiree Heerden
Damage and crop losses in South AfricaUp to 85% localised damage during
growth phase of maize and mostly on open pollinated varieties and sweetcorn and household and small scale farmers
South Africa produces mostly Bt maize which is dryland produced at higher altitudes. Cold winters causes FAWpopulations to die. No damage reported on Bt maize varieties.
Total maize production:2016/17=17 million tons (record year)2017/18=13 million tons (dryer year)
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Photo: Desiree Heerden
Photo: Desiree Heerden
Low production loss in South Africa In higher altitude maize producing areas no FAW when planted (biggest areas)
There are over 50 registered chemicals as a control option for the farmers to
control FAW. Includes some biologicals also
DAFF/ Grain SA and SANSOR surveillance programs ensured more early
detections
Early scouting in crop fields by producers
More trained personnel on morphological and diagnostic capacity
More awareness documentation available on DAFF website
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Challenges and some solutions in South Africa Other maize caterpillar pests caused confusion amongst field workers. Variance within a
species high. A train the trainer program was initialised to train field workers such as scouts,
extension support personnel and inspectors how to distinguish between caterpillars https://www.daff.gov.za/daffweb3/News-Room/Media-release/Fallarmy
Sex pheromone not accurate in traps and captures a lot of other moth species.
Mostly Leucania loreyi (False Armyworm) and also Agrotis segetum, A. exclamationis,
A. spinifera, Autographa gamma, Chilo partellus, Chrysodexis spp., Cornutiplusia
circumflexa, Hadena bulgeri, Helicorverpa armigera, Helicoverpa scutuligera, Mythymna
loreyi an unidentified Mythimna sp., Proxenus flevirpuncta, Sesamia calamistis and
Tycomarptes coniferior. A cell phone application was used to record trap catches in the
field but, not always corrected after diagnostic results came back.
Chemicals only effective if larvae are smaller than 1cm. Larvae too deep into leaf whorl
after 4th instar.
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Way forward Scouting is the number one defence against FAW
Surveillance for early detection (FAMEWS)
Awareness and training regarding FAW matters
National damage assessment plan
Continue pesticides registration and develop IPM
Implement the Control Measures relating to fall
armyworm: Government gazette No. 40860: R.449
of 26 May 2017
Funding (research, surveillance and farmer support)
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Photo: Desiree Heerden
Photo: Desiree Heerden
Egg pack and first instar larvae detected after scouting
Implications of FAW on Exports from SA The EU has published emergency import measures, which
means that SA now has to comply with specific phytosanitary measures for the following fruits: Capsicum (Peppers and Chillies) Momordica (Gourds) Solanum aethiopicum (Ethiopian eggplant) Solanum macrocarpon (African eggplant) Solanum melongena (Eggplant)
and also for maize (Zea mays), but only plants, not seeds and grains, or live pollen and plant tissue cultures.
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CONTACT DETAILS
National coordinator: Jan Hendrik Venter
Manager Plant Health Early Warning Systems, Directorate Plant Health
Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries
[email protected], +27 12 319 6384
http://www.nda.agric.za/
Thank You