Success StoryRapid Response to Provide Alternative Insecticides to manage the Fall Armyworm Outbreak of 2021 Avoided Major Losses in Double Crop Soybeans



Rapid Response to Provide Alternative Insecticides to manage the Fall Armyworm Outbreak of 2021 Avoided Major Losses in Double Crop Soybeans

Author: Raul Villanueva

Planning Unit: Entomology

Major Program: Grains

Outcome: Long-Term Outcome

By mid to end of June 2021 there were reports of fall armyworm (FAW) outbreaks affecting forages, pastures, and double soybeans. This was happening in several counties of Central and Western Kentucky from La Center to Bowling Green (Ballard and Warren Counties, respectively). This fall armyworm strain was not affected by pyrethroid insecticides. I provided a rapid report by mid-July and sent this to all ANR-CEA of Kentucky as well as the Kentucky Soybean Association. Also, I published this in the Kentucky Pest News Blog (Abrupt Presence of Fall Armyworms in Double-Crop Soybeans in Kentucky). As a result, many soybean growers made the insecticide application with this alternative product and many acres were saved. Additionally, I participated in the report titled “2021 Fall Armyworm Impact Assessment for Forages in the Commonwealth of Kentucky” (Teutsch, Bessin, Villanueva, Henning, and Smith) that showed the severity of this pest in this sector. In pastures and forages the total economic impact of the FAW were estimated to 5.2 million. In soybeans the economic impact were not that high.