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Rugose spiralling whitefly (RSW), Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), an invasive pest to the Oriental region was found infesting several plantation crops like coconut, banana, guava, Indian almond, sapota, oil palm, mango, cashew, custard apple and several ornamental plants in southern states of India as well as Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. Intensive surveys across different agroclimatic zones of Karnataka revealed that infestation of the pest was severe in coastal and southern region of Karnataka compared to northern region. Molecular characterization of partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase–I gene (658 bp) and morphological characters of the pest and its natural enemies confirms its identity. During the study, 35 host plants were recorded, and several natural enemies viz., parasitoids, Encarsia guadeloupae, Encarsia dispersa (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), predators, Pseudomallada astur (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), Jauravia pallidula, Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Cybocephalus indicus (Coleoptera: Cybocephalidae) were also observed feeding on RSW. The parasitoid E. guadeloupae was the major parasitoid associated with the pest. Natural parasitism by the parasitoids was ranging from 7–80% in the study area.

Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith) (fall armyworm) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a key pest of maize that has recently entered in India causing damage and yield loss. A biocontrol-based integrated pest management (IPM) strategy was designed and evaluated in farmer’s field during rabi and kharif season (2018–2019). IPM strategy comprising installation of controlled release FAW pheromone traps, four releases of Trichogramma pretiosum Riley, two sprays of neem oil, one spray of each Bacillus thuringiensis (NBAIR-BT25) and Metarizium anisopliae (NBAIR Ma-35) resulted in 76 and 71.64% egg mass; 80 and 74.44% larval population reduction at 60 days after treatment during rabi and kharif season, respectively. Cob yield per acre in biocontrol-based IPM field was higher than the farmer’s practice (6–7 sprays of emamectin benzoate 5% SG) during both the seasons, and it resulted in 38.3 and 42.29% gain in yield per acre during rabi and kharif, respectively. Therefore, this module forms a base to manage the fall armyworm in an eco-friendly and farmer friendly manner. Future research with other alternatives has also been discussed.

Ten indigenous entomofungal strains ofBeauveria bassiana,Metarhizium anisopliae, andM. rileyiwere evaluated against 2nd instar larvae of the maize fall armyworm (FAW)Spodptera frugiperda(J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in a laboratory bioassay. Among the ten strains tested,M. anisopliaeICAR-NBAIR Ma-35 caused 67.8% mortality, followed byB. bassianaICAR-NBAIR Bb-45 with 64.3%, and ICAR-NBAIR Bb-11 with 57.1% mortality. Rest of the isolates showed 10.7–28.6% mortality. ICAR-NBAIR Ma-35 showed LC50of 1.1 × 107spores/ml and LT50at 1 × 108spores/ml is 86.04 h and ICAR-NBAIR Bb-45 showed LC50of 1.9 × 107spores/ml and LT50at 1 × 108spores/ml is 88.30 h. Field evaluation with these two promising strains were conducted against maize fall armyworm for 2 years (2018 and 2019) at ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources experimental farm, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. Field trial results indicated 68 and 69% reduction of FAW infestation and 55 and 62% increase in yield in the plots treated withM. anisopliaeICAR-NBAIR Ma-35/B. bassianaICAR-NBAIR Bb-45, respectively, during 2018. In 2019, 70 and 76% reduction of FAW infestation and 44 and 55% increase in yield were observed in the plots treated with these two entomofungal pathogens, respectively.