Tag: maize

fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) on maize

The Promise—and Limits—of Bt Maize to Manage Fall Armyworm in Africa

As fall armyworm continues to threaten food security in Africa, the use of Bt maize offers significant potential to manage the pest. But it will be critical to manage resistance via multi-toxin crop varieties and appropriate use of refuge planting—all in forms accessible to the smallholder farmers that grow nearly all of Africa’s maize.

Entomology Today September 21, 2021 Leave a Comment

Not Just Maize: Africa’s Fall Armyworm Crisis Threatens Sorghum, Other Crops, Too

The fall armyworm's impact on maize earns plenty of attention, but it is in fact polyphagous. Sorghum, a key cereal crop in Africa, is also vulnerable to the pest's damage, and researchers are working on biocontrol and other integrated pest management methods in hopes of containing the fall armyworm's impact around the world.

First African Study on Biodiversity in Genetically Modified Maize Finds Insects Abundant

Previous studies from China, Spain, and the United States on genetically modified (GM) rice, cotton, and maize have concluded that the biodiversity of insects and related arthropods in GM crop […]