Spodoptera frugiperda is one of the world’s top 10 plant pests, a major migratory agricultural pest that has led many global warnings by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It was first discovered in Africa in January 2016, and invaded China from Myanmar on January 18, 2019, while 25 provinces of China found similar cases in September 2019.

Since January 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture has attached great importance to the coordination of many provinces across the country to respond quickly, carry out research, testing and extension of various prevention and control measures, achieving staged results without causing significant harm. On June 3, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs proposed 25 kinds of pesticide products for emergency use. The dosage of these agents is small, efficiency high, and the prevention and control effect generally above 90%. Spodoptera frugiperda multiplies quickly and has a wide range of hosts, which can produce resistance to a variety of pesticides. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs also advocates the use of biological control technologies, such as the use of Metarhizium anisopliae, insect virus preparations, and parasitic and predatory natural enemies. The control measures are mainly based on high-efficiency application machinery and ultra-low-volume spraying technology in the application method to control the density of the insect and reduce dependence on chemical pesticides.

2020 will be a critical year for Spodoptera frugiperda. Spodoptera frugiperda has completed the colonization process in tropical and southern subtropical areas of China, forming a pest overwintering areas. It is expected that after the spring of 2020, it may enter a stage of full-scale outbreak damage. In addition to corn, wheat, peanuts, sugar cane, rape and other crops, production is facing challenges, and in the spring of 2020 it will move to fly transition zone (Yangtze river). flying time will be one generation earlier than in 2019, and the number of migrating populations will also increase, so prevention and control are tasks of extreme relevance.

At present, the prevention and control of Spodoptera frugiperda requires comprehensive quarantine, monitoring, biological and chemical prevention and control methods, along with comprehensive utilization of trapping and reporting technology, efficient pesticide screening, air shooting, etc. Various related prevention and control technologies such as natural enemy protection, Bt corn prevention and control technology, optimization of application technology, including new technologies such as plant protection drone flight prevention and drip irrigation and precise spot application.