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Acceptability and suitability of some Poaceae plants for fall armyworm feeding and oviposition
Morales, Xavier Chiriboga Sobhy, Islam S. Cheruiyot, Duncan Midega, Charles A. O. Bruce, Toby J. A. Khan, Zeyaur R. Tamiru, Amanuel
Morales, Xavier Chiriboga
Sobhy, Islam S.
Cheruiyot, Duncan
Midega, Charles A. O.
Bruce, Toby J. A.
Khan, Zeyaur R.
Tamiru, Amanuel
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2025-11-27
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Abstract
Background: The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), has invaded new geographical regions, now spanning Africa, Asia, Oceania and Europe, from its native distribution in the last decade. Little is known about FAW host plants in recently invaded habitats; although more than 300 hosts have been reported in the Americas, its native habitat. In our study, we evaluated the acceptability and suitability of 12 cultivated varieties of plants from Africa, in the family Poaceae, for FAW herbivory and oviposition.
Methods: Experiments investigating larval development, no-choice oviposition, and no-choice larval arrestment-feeding were conducted to evaluate the insect´s ability to utilize these plants for survival.
Results: We found that Pennisetum ex. Sengerema, Brachiaria brizantha , Brachiaria ex. Mwanza, Panicum maximum ex. Machakos, Melinis minutiflora and S . bicolor cv. Ochuti were unsuitable plants for FAW larvae. In contrast, Zea mays HB WH505, Panicum glaucum Nutrifeed, S . bicolor cv. Serena and P . purpureum were suitable plants and S . bicolor cv. Ochuti was well accepted for egg-laying. However, M . minutiflora was not accepted for egg-laying but retained early instar larvae. S . bicolor cv. Andiwo was not well accepted for egg-laying and S . bicolor cv. Gadam yielded lighter pupae.
Conclusions: Our findings provide insights into the performance of FAW larvae on different Poaceae plants and how well they are accepted by FAW female moths for oviposition. We recommend to study further selected plants ( M . minutiflora , S . bicolor cv. Andiwo and S . bicolor cv. Ochuti), as potential trap or repellent plants for different FAW life stages, in choice tests. This knowledge will help to design ecologically based management strategies for FAW in its new habitats in Kenya and beyond.
Citation
Morales, X. C., Sobhy, I. S., Cheruiyot, D., Midega, C. A. O., Bruce, T. J. A., Khan, Z. R., Tamiru, A. (2025). Acceptability and suitability of some Poaceae plants for fall armyworm feeding and oviposition. CABI Agriculture and Bioscience, 6(1), 0082. https://doi.org/10.1079/ab.2025.0082
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CAB International
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CABI Agriculture and Bioscience
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Article
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en
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© The Authors 2025.
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2662-4044
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This work was funded by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) of the United Kingdom with grant BB/R020795/1 and the European Union´s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the grant agreement N° 861998. The authors also acknowledge the financial support by the icipe´s core donors: The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR); the Government of Norway; the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; and the Government of the Republic of Kenya.