Perception and Management Strategies of the Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith (1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Maize, Millet and Sorghum by Farmers in Western Burkina Faso

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Résumé

Since it was first detected in Africa in early 2016, the fall armyworm (FAW),
Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), has spread to over 50
African countries, including Burkina Faso. This insect pest attacks important
cereals, such as maize, millet and sorghum, which are the staple food in Burkina Faso. Since the invasion of the FAW in Africa, data on farmers’ knowledge and their perceptions of this insect’s pest are scarce and fragmented in
Burkina Faso. Although this issue has been already addressed in some African
countries, farmers’ perceptions of this invasive insect pest may differ from
one country to another. This reality justifies our study, the main objective of
which is to assess the perception and level of knowledge of farmers on this
new invasive insect pest and the consequences of its damage to cereal production in western Burkina Faso. To do this, a stratified survey was conducted
among 355 farmers in two important agricultural regions of Burkina Faso,
namely the Hauts-Bassins and the Cascades. At the end of these surveys, it
was found that the age of the people surveyed varied from 18 to 80 years.
People between the ages of 41 and 50 and 31 and 40 were the most numerous,
with 31.27% and 30.14% of the target population, respectively. In addition, majority of the farmers were male, 94.08% of them being men and 5.92% being women. More than half (50.42%) of this population was non-literate. Almost all of the farmers surveyed (97.46%) said they had heard of S. frugiperda
and 80.85% of them said they could identify the insect pest. The date of appearance of the FAW was variously perceived by the farmers of the study
area. According to these cereals growers, the years 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019
were to be remembered in terms of the insect pest’s appearance. While for
sorghum and millet the change in yields from 2010 to 2019 seemed slight, it
was quite remarkable for maize according to the farmers. The average maize
yield in 2016 and 2017 was 1.95 and 1.83 t/ha, respectively. These values will
increase slightly in 2018 and 2019 with 2.08 and 2.39 t/ha, respectively. In the
field, several management methods were used by the farmers to control the
insect pest’s attacks. These include chemical, cultural, and physical control.
Insecticide spray frequencies ranged from 1 to 4 and even more depending on
the duration of the maize cycle.

Mots-clés

Keywords Spodoptera frugiperda, Cereals, Yield Losses, Burkina Faso