Fall armyworm invasion heightens pesticide expenditure among Chinese smallholder farmers

Abstract

Invasive species are a prominent feature of global change. Aside from their direct impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, invasive crop pests routinely trigger environmentally-disruptive actions e.g., unguided applications of synthetic pesticides. Since 2016, the polyphagous fall armyworm (FAW, Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) has rapidly spread across Africa and Asia, impacting millions of hectares of agricultural crops. Upon its invasion of Yunnan (China) in late 2018, S. frugiperda attained outbreak population levels and inflicted important feeding damage in smallholder-managed maize crops. In this study, we show how local maize growers rely primarily on pesticides for FAW management and employ these products at 3-fold higher application frequencies as compared to 2018. Local reliance upon high-risk compounds (i.e., pyrethroids, organophosphates) decreased over time, with a respective 100% and 62% farmers using these compounds in 2018 versus 27% and 5% in 2020. Conversely, 71% and 95% farmers used new, selective compounds such as emamectin benzoate and chlorfenapyr by 2020. The full cost of pesticide-based crop protection increased from US $81 per hectare and season in 2018 to $276 in 2020. In farmer-managed fields, FAW infestation levels averaged 8.3 larvae per 100 plants and thus remained below economic injury levels (EILs) as established in other countries. Farmers' use of two or more pesticide sprays per season likely was not economically justified. Our work demonstrates how the FAW invasion has altered pest management regimes in Yunnan's maize crop, deepening farmers' pesticide dependency, and potentially exacerbating its burden on household budgets. Sustainable pest management schemes urgently need to be devised for smallholder maize systems in China and across the FAW invaded range.