Push-pull technology is the potential option of agroecological management for the fall armyworm

Push-pull technology is the potential option of agroecological management for the fall armyworm

Push-pull technology is widely adopted technology for the maize stem borer management in Eastern Africa. This can help to manipulate the abundance and distribution of stem borer and their natural enemies by the behaviour-modify stimuli. This technology has recently been adapted for the fall armyworm management in drier areas of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. In this study, maize intercropped with green leaf Desmodium as a ‘push’ plant and Brachiaria cv Mulato II in the border of intercrop as a  ‘pull’ plant reduced the larval population by 82.7%, plant damage by 86. 7%, and yield increase by 2.7 times compared to maize monocrop fields. However, this first report information needs to be tested in a wide geographical range over a season for wider adaptability. See Midega et al. 2018 work (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2017.11.003) for the details.