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CASE STUDY

Controlling Spodoptera litura

in the Separate Customs

Territory of Taiwan,

Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu

Ming-Yao ChiangApplied Zoology Division, TARI

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Outline• The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan,

Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu and Spodoptera litura

• Case Study on controlling Spodoptera litura:

➢ Origins and outbreak of S. litura

➢ Monitoring system

➢ IPM strategy

➢ Examples and results of area-wide control

• Conclusions2

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Where is the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu?

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Location:

South-East of

Asia

Land area:

36,000 km2

Population:

23.57 million

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Agricultural resources –

Total ≈ 745,000 ha.

Rate of cropland ≈ 21.9%

Cropland concentration rates(Chen et al., 2014)

Crop-land fragmentation:

Average cropland area per farmer ≈ 0.75 ha.

Smallholder farming

Female (1,000 persons) Male (1,000 persons)

>65

50-64

40-49

<39

• Population and age structure

• Cropland Area

Average age of farmer population ≈ 62

Older farmers have difficulty in getting information

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From CABI Jan. 20195

• The spread of S. frugiperda & S. litura worldwide

(No Spodoptera frugiperda reported in the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan,

Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu – yet)

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Spodoptera frugiperda Spodoptera litura

Host>350 species

(Maize, rice, sorghum, cotton, grasses,..)

>120 species(Peanut, soybean, tobacco, vegetable,..)

Numbers of eggs

laid by single

female

1500 (average)

2000 (max.)

900 (average)

1500 (max.)

Larva stage (days) 14-30 15-23

Threshold

temperature (°C)10.9 6

Growing degree

days340 261

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Comparisons between S. frugiperda and S. litura

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S. litura(Tobacco cutworm, Armyworm)

−Order: Lepidoptera

− Family: Noctuidae

−Genus: Spodoptera

Case Study - Controlling Spodoptera litura

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Peanuts

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The story starts with …. Tobacco cutworm (S. litura) damage in Yun-Lin County – Nov. 2005

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and continues with ….

• Outbreaks of Spodoptera litura in Yunlin in 2006.

Damage to crops

Outbreaks of Spodoptera litura

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Green manures Crops

Sesbania

田菁Sun hemp

太陽麻Soybean

大豆Maize

玉米Peanut

花生

Ratio of pest density compare to

sesbania farm

田菁與其它旱作之比較X 45-139 : 1 48-148 : 1 - 21-65 : 1

Average density

平均蟲數410,000/ha 10,000/ha 9000/ha 0 30,000/ha

Sesbania (green manure, without any control) was high-risk host Need limit

(Data collected in 2006)Host feeding preference

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2-4 / 0.36m2 4-12 / 0.36m2 > 12 / 0.36m20-2 / 0.36m2

No. of

larvae/0.36m2

Leaf damage

(%)No. of larvae/ha Suggested treatment

0.25 ＜5% 5,000 Mass trapping (pheromone)

1.5 25% 40,000 Mass trapping (pheromone)

7 50% 200,000 Chemical control

30 70% 800,000 Chemical control

45 80% 1,200,000 Chemical control, Plowing

y = -0.1249Ln(x) + 0.6785R2 = 0.598

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

0.1 1 10 100蟲數

葉重

/梗重

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Damage assessment – peanut damage levels

Choosing 4 areas

(each = 0.36m2)

Sampling the

pupae

Weighing the

stem, leaves,

and fruit pod

Counting the

number of

larvae in the area

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Research institute

Extension station

University

Farmers Association

Farmer

Farmers’ Education

What we do to control S. lituraIPM strategy drafting

• Unify useful techniques

• Develop strategies

Farmers education

• Convergence/ consensus

• Technique promotion

Pest density monitoring

• Understand pest fluctuations

• Early alarm

• Basis of decision

Actions taken

• Mass trapping

• Using pesticide at the right time

• Plowing when needed

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Monitoring System

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➢ Monitoring project operated by

TARI

➢ Sponsored by BAPHIQ (Bureau of

Animal and Plant Health Inspection and

Quarantine)

➢ Using pheromone trap method

➢ Data collected every 10 days

➢ Cooperation with Farmers Assocn.

Long-term monitoring across the

whole island (16 sites)

→ Annual monitoring

The South-West region

(main agricultural area)

Density monitoring

(57 towns; 285 monitored sites)

→ Focus on June - November

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S. litura S. exigua H. armigera

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Newsletters showing monitored density of three Noctuidae pests in 57 townships

Fluctuations in Noctuidae pest population

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Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and

Matsu

• Using sex pheromone -Mass trapping and monitoring

• Chemical controls -Chemical and non-chemical pesticides

• Physical controls -Sticky traps, light traps

• Biocontrols -Bt, NPV, nematode, and parasitoid wasp

• Other -Greenhouse planting and cultivation

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A

C

B

D

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Pheromone – for monitoring purposes

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Pheromones – for mass trapping purposes

• Area-wide control

• Cooperation with Farmers Association

• Farmers education

• Operated by farmers

• Start from crop planting

• 4 traps per hectare

• Lures renewed monthly

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Class Amount of pesticides

IRAC-1A 3

IRAC-1B 12

IRAC-3A 9

IRAC-4A 2

IRAC-5 2

IRAC-6 1

IRAC-11 3

IRAC-12A 1

IRAC-13 1

IRAC-14 2

IRAC-15 6

IRAC-18 3

IRAC-22A 1

IRAC-22B 1

IRAC-24A 1

IRAC-28 2

IRAC-un 1

Ia 1

Mixure 11

Others 2

Total 6518

Chemical controls

• 65 pesticides for S. litura control(Pesticide information website https://pesticide.baphiq.gov.tw/web/Insecticides_MenuItem1.aspx)

• Resistance monitoring

• Rotation strategy

• Operated by farmers

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Recorded Natural Enemy in the

Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan,

Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu

Hemiptera

Andrallus spinidens (Fabricius)

Cantheconidea farcellafa (Walff)

Eocanthecona furcellata (Wolff)

Orius strigicollis (Poppius)

Zicrona caerulea (Linneus)

NeuropteraMallada basalis (Walker)

Mallada desjardinsi (Navás)

Hymenoptera

Apanteles ruficrus (Haliday)

Campoletis chlorideae (Uchida)

Charops bicolor (Szepligeti)

Chelonus formosanus (Sonan)

Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov)

Cotesia ruficrus (Haliday)

Euplectrus sp.

Meteorus sp.

Metopius rufus browni (Ashmead)

Microplitis pallidipes (Szepligeti)

Microplitis tuberculifer (Wesmael)

Snellenius manilae (Ashmead)

Telenomus remus (Nixon)

Trichogramma dendrolimi (Matsumura)

Coleoptera

Calleida splendidula (Fabricius)

Chlaenius naeviger (Moraritz)

Paederus fuscipes (Curtis)

Pheropsophus javanus (Dejean)

Diptera Pseudogonia rufifrons (Wiedemann)

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Biological control agents• Parasitoids

• Snellenius manilae (Ashmead)

• Charops bicolor (Szepligeti)

• Fungus

• Beauveria brongniartii

• Metarhizium anisopliae

• Bacteria (Commercial application)

• Bacillus thuningiensis

• Virus

• NPV

• Entomopathogenic nematodes (thread worms)

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High Damage rate ≒ 1%

High Damage rate >30 %Area-wide control

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Area-wide control of S. litura in Tungshi in 2007Area:

500 ha.

(incl. 200 ha. peanut)

Operated by farmers:

Methods:

Pheromone mass

trapping & chemical

control

Main strategy:

Taking action before

outbreak.

Trapping pest in whole

area.

Constantly refreshing

lures.

Result:

Reduced damage &

pesticide usage

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Demonstration

mass trapping site21

Area-wide control at Asparagus farm

Through area-wide pheromone

mass trapping - pest density,

crop damage and pesticide

usage were reduced.

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• Limiting high-risk host planting (green manure)

• Monitoring pest dynamics

• Announcing epidemic information

• IPM & area-wide control ….

Conclusions

reduces the probability of an outbreak

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• Collect and pay attention to epidemic information

• Develop automatic trapping system

• Test for Pheromone of FAW

Preparation

Intended purpose

• Prevent the invasion of FAW

• And, if FAW invades, discover and destroy at the beginning

To fight the rapid pervasion of FAW requires:

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Thanks for listening

mingyaw@tari.gov.tw24

Message …

Work together to prevent

FAW pervasionTA

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