CIMMYT-derived Fall Armyworm (FAW) Tolerant Elite Maize Hybrids for Eastern and Southern Africa

The fall armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda) has emerged as a serious threat to maize production in Africa since 2016, and in Asia since 2018. Host plant resistance is an important component of integrated pest management (IPM). Leveraging on CIMMYT’s tropical insect-resistant maize germplasm developed in Mexico, coupled with elite stress-resilient maize germplasm developed in sub-Saharan Africa, CIMMYT conducted intensive efforts over three years to identify and validate sources of native genetic resistance to FAW in Africa. This included screening more than 3500 hybrids in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, CIMMYT evaluated a set of eight selected test hybrids (based on on-station results for FAW tolerance during trials in 2018-2019) along with four widely used commercial hybrids under different experiments/trials. The results of the trials for the three selected FAW tolerant hybrids as well as the checks are presented in this dataset.