Estimating the Optimal Control Areas of Two Classical Biocontrol Agents Against the Fall Armyworm Based on Hotspot Matching Analysis

Haoxiang Zhao, Shanqing Yi, Yu Zhang, Nianwan Yang, Jianyang Guo, Hongmei Li, Xiaoqing Xian () and Wanxue Liu ()
Additional contact information
Haoxiang Zhao: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Shanqing Yi: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Yu Zhang: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Nianwan Yang: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Jianyang Guo: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Hongmei Li: MARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio-Safety, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Xiaoqing Xian: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Wanxue Liu: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: Spodoptera frugiperda , the fall armyworm (FAW), is a widespread and polyphagous crop pest, causing serious crop yield losses worldwide, especially maize and other cereals. Biological control (biocontrol) is considered as the generally safer and more environmentally benign strategies compared to chemical insecticides in managing FAW. Chelonus insularis and Eiphosoma laphygmae are two promising classical biocontrol parasitoids against FAW. However, the optimal control areas for FAW with the two parasitoids in its invasive ranges remain unclear. This study is first time to integrate species distribution models and hotspot analysis to estimate the optimal areas for controlling FAW with these two parasitoids worldwide. Key variables influencing distribution include human influence index, temperature, and precipitation. The optimal control areas of FAW with C. insularis and E. laphygmae are in most of sub-Saharan Africa, Mediterranean regions, eastern, southern, and southeastern Asia, and Oceania. These areas are expected to expand to high-latitude areas under changing climatic conditions. Niche comparisons indicated that the FAW and C. insularis niches were closely aligned. Chelonus insularis and E. laphygmae are potentially effective against FAW in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Our findings offer insights into the strategic use of the two parasitoids against FAW worldwide.

Keywords: fall armyworm; classical biocontrol; parasitoids; climate match; hotspot (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/12/2276/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/12/2276/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:12:p:2276-:d:1541782

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().