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Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in South Kivu, DR Congo: Understanding How Season and Environmental Conditions Influence Field Scale Infestations

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Abstract

The fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) has become a global devastating pest because of its broad dispersal capacity and the high crop damages. At present, research on FAW infestations of crops in the DR Congo remains undocumented. Here, FAW infestations in two agro-ecological zones (Kabare and Ruzizi Plain) were compared in South-Kivu Province. Surveys were carried out during the early 2018 and late 2019 crop seasons to assess the impact of FAW on maize crops. In each agro-ecological zone, 50 fields were selected for investigation. A total of hundred (100) fields were assessed in the 2018 crop season. During the 2019 crop season, the same fields were investigated. The two zones had very different bioclimatic characteristics. FAW attacks were more pronounced under conditions of relatively high temperatures with high evapotranspiration, which occurred in the Ruzizi Plain and late 2019 season. In comparison, Kabare territory and the early 2018 season were characterized by heavy rainfall. The incidence, level of leaf damage, and density of FAW larvae varied significantly with season and agro-ecological zone. The Ruzizi Plain had the highest incidence (60 ± 30%), level of leaf damage and larval density (28.5 ± 19.3). The late 2019 season had the highest incidence (70 ± 20%) as well as the larval density (27.8 ± 19.2). Total annual number of FAW generations was 5.64 and 3.36 in the Ruzizi Plain and Kabare territory, respectively. In conclusion, FAW infestation represents a major problem for agricultural production due to the climatic conditions in the study region.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledged students from Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA/Bukavu), faculty of agricultural and environmental sciences, especially Balagizi Kalungu Roland and Cirezi Masumbuko Jaëlle for assisting during the survey and data collection. The authors gratefully appreciate the help of Byamungu Ndeko Adrien, the Institut National d’études et de Recherche Agronomique (INERA/Mulungu) and the Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles (CRSN/Lwiro) for facilitation in the acquisition of data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Univ Evangélique en Afrique, Bukavu, South-Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo

    Marcellin Cuma Cokola, Yannick Mugumaarhahama, Léon Muzee Kazamwali, Espoir Basengere Bisimwa & Janvier Zirhumana Mugisho

  2. Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Liege Univ, Gembloux, Belgium

    Marcellin Cuma Cokola, Grégoire Noël & Frédéric Francis

  3. Faculty of Agriculture, Univ Catholique de Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo

    Espoir Basengere Bisimwa & Victoire Munene Aganze

  4. International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT-HarvestPlus, Bukavu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo

    Antoine Kanyenga Lubobo

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  1. Marcellin Cuma Cokola
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  2. Yannick Mugumaarhahama
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  3. Grégoire Noël
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Contributions

F Francis and EB Bisimwa planned and supervised the project. MC Cokola, Y Mugumaarhahama, N Grégoire, LK Muzee, JZ Mugisho, VM Aganze, and AK Lubobo performed the experiments, analyzed the data, and contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools. All authors contributed to the writing and revision of the final manuscript. All authors read and corrected the manuscripts.

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Correspondence to Marcellin Cuma Cokola.

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Cokola, M.C., Mugumaarhahama, Y., Noël, G. et al. Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in South Kivu, DR Congo: Understanding How Season and Environmental Conditions Influence Field Scale Infestations. Neotrop Entomol 50, 145–155 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-020-00833-3

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