‘Fall armyworm danger to food security in South Kordofan’

The Sudanese Federal Plant Protection Administration has announced the appearance of the autumn cluster worm* in South Kordofan and described the worm as a threat to food security in the state.

Farmers told Radio Dabanga that the worm has appeared in Rashad, Dalami, and the areas adjacent to Habila agricultural projects.

They pointed out that the worm affects the stalks of sorghum and maize and is difficult to fight with pesticides.

* The autumn cluster worm or fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda is a Lepidpopteran pest that feeds in large numbers on leaves and stems of more than 80 plant species, causing major damage to economically important cultivated grasses such as maize, rice, sorghum, sugarcane but also other vegetable crops and cotton. In Africa it is causing significant damage to food crops across the continent.