Fall Armyworm (FAW) Epidemic in Sri Lanka: Ratnapura District Perspectives

Abstract

A recent outbreak of FAW (Spodoptera frugiperda) caused a substantial yield loss in corn was recorded in Sri Lanka especially from Uva, Eastern and North Central provinces. This was first reported in Sri Lanka in August 2018 and over the last six months, the livelihood of the majority of small-scale farming families was greatly affected. National mobilization of resources, agriculture related institutions together with university academia actively participated with the government campaign of combating the pest and improving the livelihood of affected people all over the country. The effort of this short communication is to describe the magnitude of FAW infestation, its implications in Ratnapura District, Sri Lanka and the contribution of the inter-institutional support towards the sustainable management of the Fall ArmyWorm epidemic in Sri Lanka. Amount of land extent used for corn cultivation in Ratnapura district was estimated as 292.65ha, while 32.95 ha were infected with the pest (11.3%). Highest provincial land extent use for corn in Sri Lanka was Uva province where considerable pest damage has been reported. In Uva, total 42436.7 ha were cultivated in maha season where 30998.3 ha has infected and destroyed (73%). Even though corn was cultivated in lower land extent in Ratnapura, effective and organized disaster management response in Ratnapura was able to minimize the pest impact to 11.3% from total losses.