K. MURALI MOHANRAKESH KUMAR BEHERA2023-01-162023-01-162020-12-20https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810192390Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) is a serious pest of maize all around the world. This pest also has been reported recently from India in 2018. The spread and distribution behaviour of the pest along with the efficacy of seed treatment for its management was estimated in the current study. Distribution of S. frugiperda larvae in the field followed both negative binomial and Poisson distribution. Negative binomial distribution was the best fit in case of early instar caterpillars whereas, the late instar caterpillars showed best fit towards random distribution. The distribution analysis in caged condition indicated the non-directional movement of S. frugiperda larvae. The larvae moved from artificially infested plant in different directions and maximum distance travelled was 1.5m.With regard to efficacy of seed treatment, maize seeds treated with diamides resulted in 100 per cent mortality of first and third instar caterpillars at 7 DAE in laboratory bioassays. Chlorantraniliprole 62.5 FS exhibited superior and long-lasting effect with 29.9 per cent and 24 per cent mortality of first and third instar larvae of S. frugiperda, respectively at 35 DAE. When insecticide treated seeds were sown in the field, the least leaf damage was observed in seed treatment with chlorantraniliprole 62.5 FS followed by cyantraniliprole 19.8% + thiamethoxam 19.8% FS. Spinetoram followed by chlorantraniliprole and emamectin benzoate were found effective in case of foliar spray. The present study revealed seed treatment with diamides as an economic and effective alternative to multiple insecticide sprays for the management of S. frugiperda.EnglishThesis