EVALUATION OF IPM MODULES AGAINST THE FALL ARMY WORM SPODOPTERA FRUGIPERDA (J E SMITH) ON MAIZE.

Fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith) has become a devastating pest in maize. Field experiments were carried out to assess the efficacy of various IPM modules against this pest. Amongst these, biointensive module recorded highest number of coccinellids (1.27/ plant) and ants (0.42/ plant), while chemical control module led to highest larval reduction over control (86.04%) and being superior with significantly higher grain yield (53.45 q/ ha). This also gave a 1.86 B:C ratio followed by the IPM module (48.06 q/ ha) with 1.85 B:C ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]