SPS COMMITTEE THEMATIC SESSION ON ENABLING ACCESS TO TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES:FALL ARMYWORM CASE STUDY

19 MARCH 2019WTO, GENEVA

Photo: Desiree Heerden

Fall Armyworm (FAW): The South African Experience

JH Venter

Outline Acronyms Regulatory and policy documents Structure of the National Plant Protection Organisation

of South Africa Fall Armyworm alert in Africa and the firsts positive

detections in South Africa Fall Armyworm Steering Committee and objectives of

role players Decisions and milestones Occurrence of Fall Armyworm in South Africa Major hosts of Fall Armyworm in South Africa Ongoing interventions through the Fall Armyworm

Steering Committee Damage and crop loss in South Africa Challenges and solutions Way forward

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Photo: Desiree Heerden

Acronyms • APA: Agricultural Pests Act,1983 (Act No. 36 of 1983)• ARC: Agricultural Research Council• DAFF: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries • FAO: Food and Agricultural Organisation (of the United Nations)• FAW: Fall Armyworm• FAWSC: Fall Armyworm Steering Committee

• FAWJOC: FAW Joint Operation Centre

• IPPC: International Plant Protection Convention• IRAC: International Resistance Action Group• NWU: North West University• PDA: Provincial Department of Agriculture• SADC: Southern African Development Community• SAEPPRP: South African Emergency Plant Pest Response Plan• SANSOR: South African Seed Organisation

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Regulatory and policy documents

Plant Health PolicyAgricultural Pests Act,1983

(Act No. 36 of 1983) or APANational Control Measures R.110 South African Emergency Plant

Pest Response Plan (SAEPPRP)Specific plant pest contingency or

action plans

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National Plant Protection Organisation of South Africa (NPPOZA)

Plant Health (Executive Officer

APA)

Inspection Services(Executive

Officer APA)

Food Import Export Standards

• Policy & Procedures• Legislation• Pest Action Plans

• Inspection• Surveillance• Execution of Legislation• Diagnostic and Quarantine

• Import permits• WTO SPS• Awareness Promotions

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FAW alert in Africa FAW is a quarantine pest for SA

DAFF sent an alert out on 17 January

2017 in response to media reports of

this pest in Zambia and Zimbabwe

This prompted farmers to report

suspected FAW caterpillars mainly from

the Limpopo and North West Provinces

Caterpillars were collected by various

research institutes and kept in captivity

to let them develop to adults

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Spodoptera frugiperda larvae on maize. Photo: Desiree van Heerden

First positive identification in South Africa Taxonomists at the ARC-PPRI,

Biosystematics Division positively identified male moth specimens as the Fall Armyworm, Spodopterafrugiperda (J.E Smith) Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on 03 February 2017

Morphological identification by dissecting male moth genitalia

An official national press release was issued by DAFF

The status of the pest was reported on the International Phytosanitary Portal (IPP) of the IPPC.

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Male Spodoptera frugiperda adult on maize.Photo: Desiree van Heerden

Fall Armyworm Steering Committee FAWSC: DAFF,

Industry, Research, 9

provinces, FAO

DAFF FAWJOC: Different

Directorates in DAFF

9x PROVJOC

Technical expert groups: GrainSASANSOR, IRAC,

CropLife, CropWatch etc.

Research groups: ARC,

NWU etc.

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National Fall Armyworm Steering Committee (FAWSC)

DAFF FAW Joint Operation Centre (FAWJOC)

9 Provincial Joint Operation Centre Committees

Reporting platformDecision makersDetermine way forward

The objectives of stakeholders in the FAWSC

DAFF (Coordination of all FAW activities, monitoring, diagnostics, developed the

model for management and control of the pest, developed damage assessment

tool, awareness, training, pesticide registration, legislation and enforcement)

Provincial Departments (monitoring, awareness, extension and financial support)

ARC and Universities (research, diagnostics, training)

CropLife SA and IRAC (Pesticide companies, registration, resistance monitoring)

Producer organisations (Grain SA, SANSOR, etc. for monitoring, awareness and

training)

Private companies (monitoring, diagnostics, support)

FAO (financial and technical support, regional coordination)

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FAWSC major milestone and/or decisionsNational regulatory framework: Control Measures R.449 of the

Agricultural Pests Act 1983 (Act No. 36 of 1983).Diagnostic services: Extended to various entities; the ARC

Biosystematics division and DAFF to include also molecularidentification.

Train the trainer program: Initialised to train inspectors,extension support personnel to distinguish between FAW andother caterpillars which feeds on maize and sorghum.

Protein test kit: Provincial initiative started to have a field test kidavailable for smaller instar larvae. Prototype was developed butstill not ready for production.

FAW model: Developed as part of the SADC legacy projects.

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Milestones and decisions continue…Registration of chemicals: Emergency agricultural chemical

registration was initiated and finalised to provide farmers a wideas possible toolkit to combat FAW.

National survey: Pheromone traps in all 9 provinces, workedtogether with the FAO, scouting and larvae collection.

Data collection and management: Through FAO systems, firstthrough Biosecurity Africa and later FAMEWS both through cellphone applications.

Documentation: Scouting, damage assessment, identificationdocumentation, guideline for registered chemicals, surveyprotocol, reporting sheets.

Awareness actions: Study groups, extension support meetings,fact sheets developed by ARC in 8 official languages.

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Occurrence in South Africa

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4500 ha affected

300 ha affected

Hosts of FAW in South AfricaPredominantly/primary: Most open pollinated maize varieties including maize for seed production and sweetcornSorghumOccasionally reported on:GroundnutsSunflowerSugarcane Occasional hosts are hosts mostly adjacent to maize fields or

fields with volunteer maize plants within it It seems FAW in South Africa only oviposit on maize and

sorghum

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Ongoing interventions from the FAWSC National surveillance (DAFF, PDAs, SANSOR, Grain SA)

Development stage of a diagnostic protein stick that

can identify up to 5 Lepidoptera species

(North West Province)

Roll out of the awareness program (DAFF, PDAs)

National coordination of all provincial reporting

and steering committee meetings (DAFF)

Train the trainer program for field diagnostics (DAFF, ARC)

5 research projects funded by DAFF for FAW (DAFF, ARC)

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Photo: Desiree Heerden

Damage and crop losses in South AfricaUp to 85% localised damage during

growth phase of maize and mostly on open pollinated varieties and sweetcorn and household and small scale farmers

South Africa produces mostly Bt maize which is dryland produced at higher altitudes. Cold winters causes FAWpopulations to die. No damage reported on Bt maize varieties.

Total maize production:2016/17=17 million tons (record year)2017/18=13 million tons (dryer year)

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Photo: Desiree Heerden

Photo: Desiree Heerden

Low production loss in South Africa In higher altitude maize producing areas no FAW when planted (biggest areas)

There are over 50 registered chemicals as a control option for the farmers to

control FAW. Includes some biologicals also

DAFF/ Grain SA and SANSOR surveillance programs ensured more early

detections

Early scouting in crop fields by producers

More trained personnel on morphological and diagnostic capacity

More awareness documentation available on DAFF website

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Challenges and some solutions in South Africa Other maize caterpillar pests caused confusion amongst field workers. Variance within a

species high. A train the trainer program was initialised to train field workers such as scouts,

extension support personnel and inspectors how to distinguish between caterpillars https://www.daff.gov.za/daffweb3/News-Room/Media-release/Fallarmy

Sex pheromone not accurate in traps and captures a lot of other moth species.

Mostly Leucania loreyi (False Armyworm) and also Agrotis segetum, A. exclamationis,

A. spinifera, Autographa gamma, Chilo partellus, Chrysodexis spp., Cornutiplusia

circumflexa, Hadena bulgeri, Helicorverpa armigera, Helicoverpa scutuligera, Mythymna

loreyi an unidentified Mythimna sp., Proxenus flevirpuncta, Sesamia calamistis and

Tycomarptes coniferior. A cell phone application was used to record trap catches in the

field but, not always corrected after diagnostic results came back.

Chemicals only effective if larvae are smaller than 1cm. Larvae too deep into leaf whorl

after 4th instar.

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Way forward Scouting is the number one defence against FAW

Surveillance for early detection (FAMEWS)

Awareness and training regarding FAW matters

National damage assessment plan

Continue pesticides registration and develop IPM

Implement the Control Measures relating to fall

armyworm: Government gazette No. 40860: R.449

of 26 May 2017

Funding (research, surveillance and farmer support)

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Photo: Desiree Heerden

Photo: Desiree Heerden

Egg pack and first instar larvae detected after scouting

Implications of FAW on Exports from SA The EU has published emergency import measures, which

means that SA now has to comply with specific phytosanitary measures for the following fruits: Capsicum (Peppers and Chillies) Momordica (Gourds) Solanum aethiopicum (Ethiopian eggplant) Solanum macrocarpon (African eggplant) Solanum melongena (Eggplant)

and also for maize (Zea mays), but only plants, not seeds and grains, or live pollen and plant tissue cultures.

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CONTACT DETAILS

National coordinator: Jan Hendrik Venter

Manager Plant Health Early Warning Systems, Directorate Plant Health

Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries

janhendrikv@daff.gov.za, +27 12 319 6384

http://www.nda.agric.za/

Thank You