The neotropical fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) is an important lepidopteran pest with a broad geographical distribution (Goergen et al. 2015, Early et al. 2018, Sharanabasappa et al. 2018). Larvae of S. frugiperda feed on more than 350 plant species, including several economically-important crops such as maize, sugarcane or rice (Montezano et al. 2018). Following its invasion of the African continent and of South Asia in 2016 and 2018 respectively, FAW has caused important crop losses and associated livelihood impacts (Baudron et al., 2019). During 2019, FAW rapidly spread across Southeast Asia and FAW-attributed feeding damage was recorded on maize in Viet Nam. In Viet Nam, maize is the second most important staple food crop after rice, is extensively used for livestock production and poultry feed, and thus plays a central role in sustaining rural livelihoods (Dang et al. 2004). Hence, the recent FAW invasion and the anticipated pest-induced yield losses will carry important repercussions for local maize value chains and are likely to degrade farmers’ revenue base. In this study, we conducted a morphological and molecular identification of locally-collected FAW individuals to better characterize the species’ invasion history in Viet Nam.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

This chapter discusses the effects of Bt cotton on predators in Vietnam, provides guidelines for the selection of the most relevant species for risk assessment in a scientifically objective and transparent way, and describes the conduct of a preliminary exposure and adverse effects characterization and identification of key risk hypotheses (with Menochilus sexmaculatus [Cheilomenes sexmaculata], Pardosa pseudoannulata and Eocanthecona furcellata as examples). Experimental protocols that allow one to confirm or refute these hypotheses are included.