Population Fluctuations of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda) and Physiomorphic Characterization of Maize Varieties Cultivated under Field Conditions in Punjab-Pakistan

• Published in: Pakistan Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 356 - 364
• Main Authors: Akhtar, Shamim, Farooq, Ferkhanda, Iftikhar, Romana, Din, Naima, Ashraf, Misbah, Zahid, Alina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 24.12.2023
• ISSN: 1812-1837; 2312-7791
• DOI: 10.34016/pjbt.2023.20.02.852

Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, the most notorious insectpest of maize, has led to major crop losses globally.  The experiment was conducted to study impact of three maize varieties on S. frugiperda populations and their losses assessment. The results revealed that variety YH-1898 had highest germination rate, larval infestation, pupal density, number of tassels, total grain yield, (84.06±2.14%), (15.41±0.61 larvae/plant), (12.44±0.93 tassels/plant) and (9324.71±266.63 kg/acre) standard week-03 to standard week-23, respectively. The variety, FH-2313 was found to be the tallest with plant height, leaf area index, leaf and node count, and internodal distance (67.13±3.71 cm), (70.96±3.97 cm2), (11.44±0.44 leaves/plant), (11.44±0.44 nodes/plant) and (4.33±0.22 cm) respectively. S. frugiperda females deposited 66.13±2.07 eggs/plant with grain yield 6434.06±361.84 kg/acre. Correlation between environmental factors and S. frugiperda population elucidated a positive impact with maximum and minimum temperature (0.766 and 0.679) and negative with relative humidity during morning and evening (0.790 and 0.525).