~ 432 ~ Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2018; 6(6): 432-436 E-ISSN: 2320-7078 P-ISSN: 2349-6800 JEZS 2018; 6(6): 432-436 © 2018 JEZS Received: 14-09-2018 Accepted: 15-10-2018 CP Mallapur Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Dharwad University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad Karnataka, India Anjan Kumar Naik Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Dharwad University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad Karnataka, India Sireesh Hagari Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Dharwad University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad Karnataka, India ST Prabhu Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Dharwad University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad Karnataka, India RK Patil Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Dharwad University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad Karnataka, India Correspondence CP Mallapur Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Dharwad University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad Karnataka, India Status of alien pest fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith) on maize in Northern Karnataka CP Mallapur, Anjan Kumar Naik, Sireesh Hagari, ST Prabhu and RK Patil Abstract In recent days, the production of maize is threatened by the notorious alien pest, Spodoptera frugiperda. Early incidence of fall armyworm was noticed in Dharwad and was confirmed by molecular studies with GenBank accession number MH822830. Its infestation in Northern Karnataka ranged from 6.00 to 100 percent. Among different locations surveyed, cent percent incidence was observed in Hullur and Guttala while, the lowest pest infestation was observed in Sirsi (6.00%) and Mudgod (10.00%). District wise infestation ranged between 13.50 and 66.50 percent. Highest infestation (66.50%) was in Dharwad district succeeded by Belagavi (59.55%), Bagalkot (54.96%), Gadag (50.30%), Haveri (50.07%) and Vijayapura (28.83%) while the least was in Uttar Kannada district (13.50%). The larval population varied from 8.00 to 140.00 in different maize growing areas of Northern Karnataka. Due to its wide host range, the pest has a potential to spread to other important crops in near future. Keywords: Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, percent infestation 1. Introduction Maize is commonly called as “Queen of cereals”. In India maize is cultivated to serve various purposes like human consumption, cattle and poultry feed, food processing and in the extraction of starch, dextrose, corn syrup, corn oil etc by various industries. In India, maize is cultivated in an area of 96.33 million hectares with a production of 258.99 million tonnes and productivity of 2.69 tonnes per hectare. In Karnataka, maize is cultivated over an area of 13.70 million hectares with a production and productivity of 33.14 million tonnes and 2.42 tonnes per hectare, respectively [2] . As many as 141 insect pests cause varying degree of damage to maize crop right from sowing till harvest [16] . Apart from these, the recently introduced pest, fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is of serious concern due to its notorious and polyphagous behaviour. In the recent past numerous alien insect pests and diseases have been introduced into India which has caused havoc and are of potential threat to Indian agriculture. The main reason for its fast spread might be its strong capacity to fly and disperse long distances annually during the summer months. The invasion of this pest might be due to advances in agriculture, easy of global trade and transport and human activities despite strict quarantine norms. The pest, which is indigenous in the Americas, is highly polyphagous, causing economic damage in various crops such as maize, sorghum, beans and cotton (Abrahams et al., 2017; Day et al., 2017). This invasive pest was first reported in West Africa in late 2016 (Goergen, Kumar, Sankung, Togola, &Tamo, 2016); by early 2017, the pest invaded Sub- Saharan Africa. Recent reports con-firmed the occurrence of fall armyworm in 28 countries in Africa (Cock, Beseh, Buddie, Cafa, & Crozier, 2017; Day et al., 2017) indicat-ing the rapid spread of the pest in the African continent, threatening the food security of millions of people. The pest, which is indigenous in the Americas, is highly polyphagous, causing economic damage in various crops such as maize, sorghum, beans and cotton (Abrahams et al., 2017; Day et al., 2017). This invasive pest was first reported in West Africa in late 2016 (Goergen, Kumar, Sankung, Togola, &Tamo, 2016); by early 2017, the pest invaded Sub- Saharan Africa. Recent reports con- firmed the occurrence of fall armyworm in 28 countries in Africa (Cock, Beseh, Buddie, Cafa, & Crozier, 2017; Day et al., 2017) indicat- ing the rapid spread of the pest in the African continent, threatening the food security of millions of people.