Voracious Fall Armyworm Invades South China – 8th May 2019

The Fall Armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda) – a crop-eating pest – first detected in China in January 2019 has spread across China’s southern border and currently impacts about 4,700 hectares (70,000 mu) of grain production in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong provinces. Officially, Chinese authorities have employed an emergency action plan to monitor and respond to the pest.  FAW has no natural predators in China and its presence may result in lower production and crop quality of corn, rice, w…