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Analysis of Fall armyworm infestations on rainy season crops under different cropping systems in two agroecological zones in Burkina Faso, West Africa

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Abstract

The Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, was first reported in a few regions of Burkina Faso in 2017. Since then, it has continued to spread and damage maize crops in the country, thereby threatening food security. This study, conducted three years later, aimed to assess the pest status on major rainy season crops, and the effects of cropping systems, crop diversity, and phenology in 11 localities of Sudanian and Sudano-Sahelian zones in Burkina Faso. Two sampling periods, the first conducted at the beginning of the rainy season and the second at the end of the season, were considered. Maize was the most FAW-infested crop, mainly as monocrops (84–88% of surveyed fields). Sorghum, pearl millet, cowpeas, and peanuts were the secondary infested crops, more infested when intercropped with maize. Maize fields were more FAW-affected in the Sudanian zone, whereas the secondary infested crops were significantly more affected in the Sudano-Sahelian zone. The highest field infestation rates were recorded during the second survey period, coinciding in most cases (> 90%) with the flowering and post-flowering of maize. Then, FAW attacks were found in vegetative, flowering, and post-flowering cereal organs. Despite the technical recommendations, most farmers (57.30 ± 10.34 and 66.78 ± 6.74% in the Sudanian and Sudano-Sahelian zones, respectively) did not apply insecticide in infested maize fields. Thus, in 3 years, the FAW has become an important pest of cereals, specifically maize, in the main agricultural zones of Burkina Faso. These results should be taken into account to develop effective control actions against FAW.

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Data availability

The data and material of this manuscript are available from the corresponding author’s institution on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the technicians of the Ministry in charge of agriculture in Burkina Faso for their contribution to the choice of sampling localities and to making necessary links with farmers. The research was financially supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), UK, the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS), Netherlands, the European Commission Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) through CABI’s Action on Invasives and Plantwise Plus Programmes. CABI is an international intergovernmental organization, and we gratefully acknowledge the core financial support from our member countries and lead agencies. See https://www.cabi.org/aboutcabi/who-we-work-with/key-donors/ for details.

Funding

The research was financially supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), UK, the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS), Netherlands, the European Commission Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) through CABI’s Action on Invasives and Plantwise Plus Programmes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Entomologie Fondamentale et Appliquée, UFR Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre, Université Joseph KI-ZERBO, 03 BP 7021, Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso

    Idrissa Compaoré, Manoé R. Sanou, Athanase Badolo & Antoine Sanon

  2. CABI, Cantonments, P.O. Box CT 8630, 0376800, Accra, Ghana

    Lakpo K. Agboyi

Authors
  1. Idrissa Compaoré
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  2. Manoé R. Sanou
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  3. Athanase Badolo
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  4. Lakpo K. Agboyi
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  5. Antoine Sanon
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the research and to the paper writing. IC and MRS carried out the experiment and collected the data. AB, LKA, and AS designed and supervised the experiment, and statistical analysis was performed by IC. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Antoine Sanon.

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Compaoré, I., Sanou, M.R., Badolo, A. et al. Analysis of Fall armyworm infestations on rainy season crops under different cropping systems in two agroecological zones in Burkina Faso, West Africa. J Plant Dis Prot 130, 1207–1216 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41348-023-00800-1

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