Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), commonly known as fall armyworm, was first detected in Uganda in 2016 and has spread to all the maize-growing districts. Different methods have been deployed to control this pest. However, there is a limited understanding of the role of the environment and farmers’ practices on the abundance of and damage by S. frugiperda in Uganda. This study, therefore, assessed the abundance of S. frugiperda and leaf damage levels in three different districts and explored the association between agronomic practices, crop phenology, and weather parameters on S. frugiperda damage and abundance in smallholder farmers’ maize fields using a longitudinal monitoring survey in 69 farmers’ fields of Kole, Kiryandongo, and Nakaseke for three seasons. The numbers of egg masses and adults were generally low. The highest numbers of adults were trapped in Kiryandongo, followed by Nakaseke, and the lowest numbers were trapped in Kole. Leaf damage and incidence of damaged plants differed significantly between districts and seasons. Leaf damage and abundance of larvae varied significantly in the districts and at different growth stages. Conservation tillage, reduced weeding frequency, increased rainfall and high maximum temperatures were associated with reduced S. frugiperda damage. No significant relationship was observed between pesticide or cropping systems with S. frugiperda leaf damage. However, the influence of fertilizer use on leaf damage was contradictory across seasons and districts. Timely and vigilant scouting, proper timing of control measures, and minimum tillage practices should be included in an IPM strategy for S. frugiperda.

Spodoptera frugiperda (fall armyworm, FAW) is a significant economic pest of maize in Uganda. Many Ugandan maize farmers employ synthetic insecticides as their main form of control despite the negative impacts of these chemicals. We tested the effectiveness of Beauveria bassiana; General Biopesticide Cocktail (mixture of B. bassiana, M. anisopliae, Isaria fumosoroseus, Lecanicillium lecani and Purporeocillium lilacanus three strains of Metarhizium anisopliae, Nimbecidine^® (azadirachtin 0.03%EC), and Roket^® (cypermethrin 4% and profenofos 40%); and Amdocs^® (emamectin benzoate 2% and abamectin 1%) on fall armyworm and parasitoids, respectively, in 2020 and 2021. The treatments with the greatest decrease in leaf damage and infestation were Amdocs^® and Roket^®, followed by Nimbecidine^®. The biopesticides were not always more effective than the untreated control, though; their efficacy was often lower than that of the synthetic and botanical pesticides. We recovered one egg parasitoid, Telenomus remus, and seven egg and egg-larval parasitoids (Coccygidium luteum, Coccygidium sp., Cotesia icipe, Chelonus sp., Micranisa sp., Charops cf. diversipes, and an unidentified Tachinidae). Among these, C. cf diversipes, Chelonus sp., C. luteum, C. icipe and the Tachinidae were the most abundant. Parasitism was low, averaging 10% for egg masses and 5.3% for larvae. Application of synthetic pesticides and Nimbecidine^® often resulted in higher yield when compared with the untreated control. In general, a low population of parasitoids was observed. Although the parasitoid population reduced in plots treated with Amdocs^® and Roket^®, the percentage of parasitism of FAW was not affected. In some instances, higher yields were realized in untreated control when compared with the treated plots. Pest management practices more compatible with biological control need to be considered for the management of fall armyworm.

Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) commonly known as fall armyworm was first detected in Uganda in 2016 and has spread to all the maize-growing districts. Different methods have been deployed to control this pest. However, there is a limited understanding of the role of the environment and farmers' practices on the incidence and damage by S. frugiperda in Uganda. This study, therefore, assessed the abundance of S. frugiperda and leaf damage levels in three different districts and explored the association between agronomic practices, crop phenology and weather parameters on S. frugiperda damage and abundance in smallholder farmers’ maize fields using a longitudinal monitoring survey in 69 farmers’ fields of Kole, Kiryandongo and Nakaseke for three seasons. Leaf damage and incidence of damaged plants differed significantly between locations and seasons. Leaf damage and abundance of larvae varied significantly in the different growth stages. Conservation tillage resulted in reduced leaf damage. No significant relationship was observed between pesticide or fertilizer use with S. frugiperda leaf damage. There were non-significant negative relationships between leaf damage and rainfall. Timely and vigilant scouting, proper timing of control measures, minimum tillage practices, and crop diversity should be included in an IPM strategy for S. frugiperda.

Spodoptera frugiperda is a significant economic pest of maize in Uganda. Many Ugandan maize farmers employ synthetic insecticides as their main form of control despite the negative impacts of these chemicals. The study aimed to determine the effect of synthetic, semi-synthetic and bio-pesticides on maize leaf damage, and abundance of S, frugiperda and its parasitoids in Wakiso and Lira districts. The experiments were laid out in an RCBD with six treatments in 2020 and nine treatments in 2021, replicated four times. The treatments with the biggest decrease in leaf damage and infestation were Amdocs and Roket®, followed by Nimbecidine. The biopesticides were not always more effective than the untreated control, though; their efficacy was often lower than that of synthetics, semi-synthetics, and botanical. We recovered one egg parasitoid, Telenomus remus, and seven egg and egg-larval parasitoids (Coccygidium luteum, Coccygidium sp., Cotesia icipe, Chelonus sp., Micranisa sp., Charops cf. diversipes, and Tachinidae sp. Among these, C. cf diversipes, Chelonus sp., C. luteum, C. icipe and Tachinidae were the most abundant. Parasitism was low, averaging 10% for eggs and 5.3% for larvae. Synthetic, the semi-synthetic and Nimbecidine often increased higher yield when compared with the untreated control. There were genrally low population of parasitoids, althoguh there were some indications of reduced population of parasitoids in plots treated with Amdocs and Roket®, while percent parasitism was not affected. In some instances, higher yields were even realized in untreated control. While considering the tactics to integrate, assessing the practices more compatible with biological practices will be necessary.