Kreetika Kumar 
A total of 17 teams were deployed nationwide to undertake the delimiting survey for Fall Armyworm (FAW) targeting the host crops such as maize.
1437 site inspections were carried out across Fiji and through the survey, all infestations have been recorded only on the maize plantation.
Chief Plant Protection Officer for Biosecurity Authority of Fiji, Nitesh Dutt says the current FAW incursion in Fiji is localized to the Nadi District.
Dutt says the team has so far identified up to 14 farms that have been infested.
“The majority of these farms are very small, less than a quarter acre, and include maize and sweet corn plantations.”
Dutt adds that early detection and prompt action can help mitigate damage.
“We started with the chemical control and we currently using four different types of chemicals which is the contact and the systemic insecticide. The reason is we also rotating this chemical as we know the history of this pest they tend to build the resistance very fast and we want to eliminate that.”
Fall Armyworm is present in the region in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tonga and now in Fiji.
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