Farmers Urged to Be on High Alert for Beet Armyworm

Farmers across the country are being advised to be on high alert for an increase in the beet armyworm population.

Spodoptera exigua, more commonly known as the beet armyworm, is a destructive pest of onion and scallion in Jamaica.

Senior Plant Health and Food Safety Officer with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Francine Webb, said the pest population is increasing, particularly in St. Thomas.

“This is not unexpected, because over the period that we have been monitoring, this is the time when the beet armyworm increases – when the temperatures are going up. There’s an abundance of food with respect to onion, though they feed on a wide variety of crops; however, the pest favours onions and scallion,” she said, in an interview with JIS News.

Meanwhile, farmers are being urged not to wait too long to harvest their crops.

“Farmers can’t just relax until another two to three weeks before they pull their crops. With the increase in the worm’s food supply, then farmers will see an increase in the population of the pest as well,” she said.

Ms. Webb explained that because of heavy rains late last year, several fields were planted, and they sustained some flood damage.

“What that has done is that several farmers had to resupply. This pushed back the expected harvesting time. Currently, some fields are a little behind, waiting for another two to three weeks to harvest. But at the same time, it is the period of February to March that you see an increase in the beet armyworm population,” she said.

Farmers can reach out to the RADA Office in their parish for resources and support to manage the increase in beet armyworm.