First report of peculiar damaging behaviour of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith) on the pre-blooming stage of cotton in India

Spodoptera frugiperda , fall armyworm (FAW), is one of the notorious insect-pest that has invaded a large number of countries in a short span of time across the globe, causing huge economic losses. FAW has been in the news due to its damage potential and preference for maize crop. Besides maize, this pest is being observed moving to other crops such as sorghum, sugarcane, and many other crops. The damage to cotton caused by this insect has not been documented in any part of India. First, we describe the unusual damage symptoms caused by FAW on cotton during the pre-blooming stage. Typical damage symptoms include dead hearts, drooping main stem leaves, and burrowing. The phylogenetic analysis of the mtCOI gene sequences from the present studies along with earlier reported sequences confirmed their grouping into corn strains. Further bioassays of the F1 individuals with fruiting bodies of Bollgard-II cotton confirmed the high susceptibility of FAW to Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab toxins.