Determination of the Presence and Management Method of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) in Market Gardening in the City of Korhogo

Abstract

The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a species of moth in the Noctuidae family. This highly polyphagous caterpillar causes damage to cereal crops, particularly maize, as well as vegetable crops. This study aims to contribute to knowledge about fall armyworm in market gardening crops in order to better combat it. A survey was conducted among market gardeners in the town of Korhogo. Nine sites were visited and 51 producers were surveyed. A total of 154 plots were visited. A questionnaire was submitted to the market gardeners. The results showed that 81.03% of market gardeners were women, 75.86% of market gardeners had 6 to 10 years of experience in market gardening and 70.68% had knew of fall armyworm although only 5.18% had received training on fall armyworm. The infested crops were tomato, cabbage, lettuce, zucchini, eggplant, and potato, with respective incidences of 66.66%, 64.51%, 50%, 37.5%, 18.75%, and 6.66%. The only symptom observed was perforated leaves. All the growers used chemical control as a method of managing fall armyworm. This study revealed that fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is indeed present on vegetable crops in the city of Korhogo, and that market gardeners had some knowledge about fall armyworm. Chemical control is the method used.