LIMITED IMPACT:The total affected area is far below the 20% predicted by international researchers, as only 1.22% of cornfields have been affected, officials said
Taipei Times
Date: Jul 17, 2019
By Chien Hui-ju and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
A type of small wasp might be introduced to combat an influx of fall armyworms, the Council of
A Trichogramma wasp is pictured in an undated photograph provided by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.
Photo: CNA
The crop-destroying fall armyworm was first found on a Miaoli County farm last month and has since spread to other areas.
Trichogramma are important biological control agents, as they lay their eggs within the eggs of other insects.
Preliminary testing with three Trichogramma species have been successful, Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Director-General Feng Hai-tung (馮海東) said, adding that if field trials are also successful, the measures would be introduced.
From June 8 to Monday, 206 fall armyworm sightings had been reported across the nation, excluding Chiayi County, where there were no sightings, council Deputy Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said.
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