Title of project: Development of sustainable management tools for the invasive pest, Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E.Smith) in maize

Funding agency: ICAR- NASF
Total approved cost of the project: 3.02 crore

Objective:

• To identify sources and mechanisms of fall armyworm (FAW) resistance in maize
• To develop potential bio-pesticides and semiochemicals for managing FAW
• To identify genomic regions determining resistance to FAW and introduce them in promising inbreds through MAS
• To identify suitable agro-ecological techniques to manage FAW
• To explore RNAi mediated management of FAW

Project team:

PI: Dr. J. C. Sekhar, WNC, ICAR-IIMR, Hyderabad
CI: Drs. P. Lakshmi Soujanya, S. B. Suby, K. R. Yathish, S. L. Jat, Krishan Kumar
CCPI: Dr. N. Bhaktavatsalam, ICAR-NBAIR, Bangalore
CI: Drs. Kesavan Subaharan and Jagadeesh Patil, ICAR-NBAIR, Bangalore
CCPI: Dr. Vinay Kumari Kalia, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi
CCPI: Dr. Jyothilakshmi Vadassery, NIPGR, New Delhi

Major achievements:

• Screening of diverse maize inbred lines under natural as well as artificial infestation is under progress
• Maize inbred lines were crosses with wild species to identify potential source of resistance against FAW
• Around 250 leaf samples comprising of diverse maize inbred lines were selected for Association mapping panel