Status of parasitization of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) in Punjab maize ecosystem

Abstract

Fall armyworm (FAW) is a devastating pest that voraciously feeds on the foliage of maize and has been recognized as a potential threat to the crop. The natural enemies establishment is the key to the integrated pest management (IPM) of FAW in different maize agroecosystems. The present study showed the increase in the rate of natural enemies i.e., parasitoids in Punjab maize fields under natural conditions during the rainy season in 2021. The parasitoids of FAW larvae were recorded from 1st week of June 2021 up to the 2nd week of October 2021. The parasitoids observed were Chelonus formosanus Sonan and Temelucha sp. and the former is more prevalent with per cent parasitism rate ranging from 1.1 to 34.2%, followed by Temelucha sp. with parasitism of 0.8–14.7%. C. formosanus resulted in a maximum parasitism rate in the 3rd week of July (34.17%) while the minimum rate was observed in the 2nd week of October (1.07%). The per cent parasitism due to Temelucha sp. was maximum in 1st week of August (14.67%) whereas the value was minimum in 4th week of June as well as in 3rd week of July 2021. The total parasitism rate of FAW was maximum in the 3rd week of June 2021 (36.84%), and the minimum rate (2.86%) was observed in the 2nd week of October 2021. The maximum and minimum survival rate of parasitoids was recorded in 1st week of August 2021 (76.19%) and 2nd week of October 2021 (37.50%), respectively. The correlation between per cent parasitism and the survival rate of parasitoids was observed to be positively significant.