Modern Breeding Technologies for Fall Armyworm Management in Maize in Eastern Africa

Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) (FAW) is a major pest in maize farming. In 2017, the FAW infestation rate in maize fields was reported to be 100% in Kenya, 93%–100% in Tanzania, and 33%–100% in Ethiopia. Management of this pest is challenging due to its wide range of host plants, rapid reproduction, and fast migration. No single approach has been successfully used to control the FAW. Therefore, an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy is key to FAW control. This involves using biological, cultural, chemical, and host plant resistance (HPR) methods. Host plant resistance is an integral component of IPM and is the most effective, safe, and reliable method of controlling pests. In addition, HPR is heritable and can be enhanced using plant breeding strategies. Host plant resistance improvement through conventional plant breeding requires the identification of sources of resistant genes, crosses, backcrossing, evaluation, and selection of progenies. Developing hybrid maize through conventional plant breeding takes up to 10 years. However, the application of modern plant breeding technologies, such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS), genomic selection, transcriptomics, proteomics, genome editing, enviromics, and phenomics, may reduce the time required to develop FAW-resistant maize varieties. This review provides information on the status of the use of modern plant breeding technologies for the management of FAW in maize in Eastern Africa. In addition, recommendations and future prospects for the use of these technologies to enhance genetic improvement of FAW resistance in maize are documented.