VEGETABLE farmers in Northwest Guadalcanal are concerned with the increasing presence of the invasive pest ‘Fall armyworm’ which continues to attack vegetables and other green crops.
Fall armyworm scientifically known as Spodoptera frugiperda is an insect pest, according to reports from Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nation (FAO) and International Plant Control Convention (IPCC).
Fall armyworm was first detected in Solomon Islands on the 24 August 2021, according to IPCC.
The armyworm’s diet consists mainly of grasses and grain crops such as corn.
Over the past few years, farmers in Guadalcanal have noticed an increased presence of this pest in their farms which affected the production and supply of fresh fruits and veggies at the Honiara Central Market.
Some of the farmers also expressed that these pests are also resistant to some of the pesticides they normally use to get rid of these worms.
They said this particular worm unlike other worms seen in country that cannot be eradicated even if they used traditional made pesticides.
A local farmer from North West Guadalcanal Junior Benedict in an exclusive interview said, that they face a lot of challenges when they come across this pest since they don’t understand the type of pesticide to use after discovering his corn farm being attacked.
“I didn’t notice that some of the corn fruits are already affected since the worm attack was from the inside like a drill,” Benedict said.
He also showed pictures of how this particular worm attacks crops.
Some of the vegetables being attacked include; slippery cabbage, beans, tomatoes, Chinese cabbages and others.
He said, the presence of the armyworm has affected their supplies and sales.
Its unclear whether armyworm has reached other provinces.
By John Chrisma
Solomon Star
