Efficacy of Cameroon's entomopathogenic fungi against fall armyworm in the field

The oil-based mycoinsecticidal formulations developed with Metarhizium anisoplie and Beauveria bassiana were tested for their efficacy against fall armyworm. The test was conducted during the rainy season (Mid-April to early July) and the short dry season (June to mid-August). Fields were manually weeded and the farm ploughed followed by designing of the farm into a randomized complete block with four replications per treatment. Maize seedling used was a three-month cycle ACRO6 with rows and inter-row spacing of 50cm x 50cm. The best formulations from screen house evaluations were tested on IITA farms using the spraying method on 3-4 weeks old plants after assessment of damage and severity. Plants were randomly selected for destructive evaluation with larvae population recorded before and after treatment.