Suitability of common crop- and non-crop plants for Spodoptera frugiperda development in tropical Asia

For the newly invasive fall armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda Smith), large parts of Southeast Asia serve as a year-round breeding ground and a source of spring or summer migrants. So far, the host suitability data for crop- and non-crop species in the China-Myanmar-Lao border is still absent. Here, using life table analyses, we investigated FAW larval feeding and development on locally dominant crop and non-crop species.

Among a panel of 17 locally relevant plant species, FAW exhibited the highest survival and fecundity on Zea mays. Meanwhile, field crops such as Manihot esculenta or Musa acuminata and weeds such as Sonchus wightianus, Arachis duranensis, and Sphagneticola trilobata act as potential alternate hosts supported under laboratory conditions. Larval development cannot be completed on Bidens alba and eight other plants, whereas FAW reproduction was not observed on Plantago asiatica and Hevea brasiliensis. On Z. mays, FAW exhibited the highest intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ), the shortest mean generation time (T), and the highest net reproductive rate (R₀). FAW attained the highest population growth on Z. mays, followed by M. esculenta, S. wightianus, M. acuminata, and A. duranensis. Larval feeding preferences were consistent with the ranking of host plant adaptability.

In the border region between Lao PDR, Myanmar and China, local FAW populations readily develop on locally prevalent crop- and non-crop plants including Z. mays, M. esculenta, M. acuminata, S. wightianus, A. duranensis, and S. trilobata. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.