Exploration of the egg parasitoids of Fall Army Worm in maize growing areas of Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan

Exploration of the egg parasitoids of Fall Army Worm in maize growing areas of Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan

Survey for the detection and occurrence of natural enemies with focus on egg parasitoids of FAW was initiated in two provinces i.e., Punjab (31.1704° N, 72.7097° E) and Sindh (25.8943° N, 68.5247° E) of Pakistan where maize is grown as a major crop.

 The collections were conducted during the maize growing seasons from September to October 2019, in maize fields that had not been previously treated with insecticides. The samples were collected from various locations of Punjab and Sindh. The geographic coordinates and other field information i.e., field size, crop stage and surroundings crops were recorded. The same practice was repeated during the maize growing seasons from March to May 2020.

 Different egg masses were collected randomly and carried to the biological control laboratory at CAB International Rawalpindi Pakistan. The egg masses were collected with a piece of maize leaf on which they were found and placed in plastic vials with humid cotton. Egg masses were kept individually until hatching or parasitoid emergence in the laboratory at an ambient temperature of 26–30 °C, 70%–80% relative humidity in aerated plastic vials (50 ml).

The data on the emergence of parasitoids were collected. All parasitoids species that emerged from the samples were conserved in 99% alcohol for morphological and molecular identifications.