Prevalence, effects and management of fall army worm in the Nkoranza South Municipality, Bono East region of Ghana

Fall Army Worm (FAW) emerged in Ghana in 2017 as a major threat to maize production in the country. Considering that maize is the staple crop of the country, any major shock in its prodcution can have negative consequences on the food security of the entire country. Therefore, this study analysed the prevalence of FAW, control strategies and its effect on output in a highly infested area, the Nkoranza South Municipality of Bono East region. A total of 200 farmers who cultivated maize in the 2018 production season were selected using multistage sampling procedure. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and Kendall's coefficient of concordance. From the result, FAW prevalence is as high as 79.5%. A total of 96.3% of farmers who experienced FAW had at least half of their farms infested. There is a significant output gap among infested farms and non-infested farms of about 17%. The strategies adopted to control FAW were chemicals (pesticides), neem extract, detergents, hand picking and burning of affected farm areas. The study concluded that among the control strategies, burning affected farm areas leads to higher output. However, to achieve a higher output, a combination of neem extracts with the burning of affected farm areas is recommended. Research into the cost benefit of each control strategy and their combination is also recommended for future scholars.