STATE TIMES NEWS JAMMU: A webinar on “Management Strategy of Fall Armyworm (FAW) in Jammu” was organised today by Department of Agriculture Production & Farmers Welfare, Jammu in collaboration with Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) at Krishi Bhawan, Talab Tillo on Wednesday. The webinar was attended by more than 150 participants including Chief Agriculture Officers, DAOs, SDAOs, AEOs, Plant Doctors and other field functionaries of the Department of Agriculture Jammu. The objective of the programme was to sensitize the participants regarding Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices in a sustainable manner in the maize growing regions of Jammu division for the management of the FAW. Joint Director Agriculture (Extension), Shahid Iqbal Sheikh welcomed the resource persons From CABI and deliberated on the purpose of the said Webinar. Director of AP&FW, Jammu, K. K. Sharma outlined that plant protection is the major production factor in farming and FAW being an invasive pest needs to be managed at any cost. He stressed to devise an effective action plan against FAW. He informed that the Department has mobilized the extension agency including 40 e-plant clinics for surveillance, identification and recommendation for FAW control if need arises. Plant Protection Officer, Davinder Sharma discussed the status of FAW in Jammu region and informed that there is 2.11 lakh hectare area under maize crop in Jammu which adds to the importance of this webinar. The resource persons from CABI included Dr. Malvika Choudhary, Dr. Manju Thakur, Dr. Lena Durocher Gangar and Dr. Vinod Pandit who is also Programme Leader, CABI, South Asia. The facilitators emphasized the need for strengthening monitoring and surveillance towards the early detection of FAW incidence on maize using FAO’s Fall Armyworm monitoring and early warning systems (FAWMES) application. The Webinar covered the topics like identification, use of different approaches for the management of FAW including bio-pesticides and locally-available natural bio control agents. The Experts underlined the need to integrate cultural, mechanical, chemical and biological measures along with IPM in managing FAW economically. The programme was followed by a brief question & answer session. The Webinar was coordinated by Programme officer, Sanjay Dhar and vote of thanks was presented by Incharge Plant Health Clinic Jammu, Arun Khajuria.
