Improving livelihoods of farmers through sustainable management of the pod borer (Maruca vitrata) on vegetable legumes in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa

The overall project goal is to improve the income and quality of life for small-scale vegetable legume farmers in the target countries in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa by developing a simple, economical and environmentally sound integrated pest management technology for the control of legume pod borer (LPG). This will be reached through refining the sex pheromone technology, introduction of species-specific larval and pupal parasitoids, and developing bio-pesticide formulations based on entomopathogenic fungi, bacteria, viruses and botanicals.
The project has five major components, viz., (1) Characterization of legume pod borer population from South-east Asia (SEA) and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using molecular tools to confirm the key species in the genus Maruca, as well as to confirm the host plant races, (2) Identification of all major and minor components of sex pheromone in LPB populations from SEA and SSA based on the variations in pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) and development of appropriate pheromone blends for each geographical region based on the variations in pheromone binding proteins (PBPs) of male populations, (3) Exploration, mass-production and introduction of species specific parasitoids for classical biological control of LPB in target countries, (4) Screening of entomopathogens based on fungi (Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae), bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis), viruses (Maruca vitrata multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus) and botanicals (neem) against LPB populations and development of appropriate bio-pesticide formulations, and (5) Validation of an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy based on sex pheromone, natural enemies and bio-pesticides in target countries.
The project team is composed of multi-disciplinary collaborators that include the AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center (Headquarters, Asian Regional Center), International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Humboldt University Berlin (HUB), Southern Taiwan University of Technology (STUT), Kasetsart University (KU), Department of Agriculture (Lao PDR), Department of Agriculture (Thailand) and Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Science. The extensive network, experience, and expertise of the project team will enable successful implementation and generation of information, tools and IPM strategy to manage the LPB in target areas of SEA and SSA.