Overwintering Distribution of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in Yunnan, China, and Influencing Environmental Factors.

Yanru Huang,Binyuan Ren,Yue Shi,Wenjiang Huang,Jie Bai,Qiaoyu Deng,Yu Ren,Huiqin Ma,Yun Geng,Yingying Dong

doi:10.3390/insects11110805

Abstract

Simple SummaryThe fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a nondiapausing insect pest capable of causing large reductions in the yield of crops, especially maize. Every year, the new generation of fall armyworms from Southeast Asia flies to East Asia via Yunnan, and some of them will grow, develop and reproduce in Yunnan since the geographical location and environmental conditions of Yunnan are very beneficial for the colonization of fall armyworms. This study explored the potential overwintering distribution of fall armyworms in Yunnan and the influence of environmental factors on its distribution. These results provide a basis for the precise prevention and control of fall armyworms by guiding management and decision-making and may facilitate meaningful reductions in pesticide application.The first fall armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda) attack in Yunnan, China, occurred in January 2019. Because FAW lacks diapause ability, its population outbreaks largely depend on environmental conditions experienced during the overwinter months. Thus, there is an urgent need to make short-term predictions regarding the potential overwintering distribution of FAW to prevent outbreaks. In this study, we selected the MaxEnt model with the optimal parameter combination to predict the potential overwintering distribution of FAW in Yunnan. Remote sensing data were used in the prediction to provide real-time surface conditions. The results predict variation in the severity and geographic distribution of suitability. The high potential distribution shows a concentration in southwestern Yunnan that suitability continues to increase from January to March, gradually extending to eastern Yunnan and a small part of the northern areas. The monthly independent contributions of meteorological, vegetation, and soil factors were 30.6%, 16.5%, and 3.4%, respectively, indicating that the suitability of conditions for FAW was not solely dominated by the weather and that ground surface conditions also played a decisive role. These results provide a basis for the precise prevention and control of fall armyworms by guiding management and decision-making and may facilitate meaningful reductions in pesticide application.

Highlights

The fall armyworm (FAW) or Spodoptera frugiperda
Kumbula et al [32] used remote sensing data provided by the Sentinel-2 MSI sensor to study the potential area of wood borer pest Coryphodema tristis occurrence; the results showed that high-precision prediction results could be obtained from the use of remote sensing data and vegetation indices
The results showed that the model could accurately predict the potential distribution of the FAW in accordance with the survey conducted by the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center

Summary

Introduction

The fall armyworm (FAW) or Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous moth pest that can feed on more than 300 host plant species [1] though has a preference for cultivated grasses, including maize, sorghum, and wheat [2]. FAW has the potential to reduce annual maize production by 21-53% in the absence of control methods [3]. Because of the globalization of trade [5] and FAW’s strong dispersal ability, the impact of this pest has extended to other continents in recent years. It was first reported in Africa in 2016 [6], in South Asia in 2018 [7,8,9,10]. In January 2019, the FAW was first discovered in Yunnan, China, and by the end of 2019, it was recorded in 1524 counties in

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