Management strategies of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in China

In 2019, the fall armyworm has completed its colonization in the tropical and southern subtropical regions of China and neighboring countries. Beginning from 2020, it will move northward with the monsoon in spring and summer to enter the wheat, corn and other major crop production areas in the Yangtze River Basin, the Yellow River Basin, the Northeast region of China, which will pose a long-term threat to the national food production security. Based on the understanding of the biological behaviors and occurrence principle of fall armyworm and the practice experiences of the control of major agricultural pests such as cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera, the author puts forward the “two-step” strategy for the pest control in China. In recent years, the IPM strategy, mainly including chemical control, physical control, biological control and agricultural control, should be implemented in order to solve the problem of emergency management and reduce crop yield losses caused by the pest in the short term. Then, through the innovation and application of modern agricultural information technology and biotechnology, an IPM strategy based on accurate monitoring and early warning, high-efficient interception of moth migration and planting of Bt maize will be developed and deployed in 3-5 years, to achieve the goal of low-cost, green and sustainable control, and to meet the strategic needs of China’s high-quality development of agricultural production and the construction of social ecological civilization.