Announcing CIMMYT-derived fall armyworm tolerant elite maize hybrids for eastern and southern Africa Breakthrough comes after three years of intensive research and trials conducted in Kenya — and during the United Nations International Year of Plant Health — and represents a significant advance in the global fight against fall armyworm. December 23, 2020 A collage of maize images accompanies a CIMMYT announcement about fall armyworm-tolerant maize hybrids for Africa. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is pleased to announce the successful development of three CIMMYT-derived fall armyworm-tolerant elite maize hybrids for eastern and southern Africa. Fall armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda) emerged as a serious threat to maize production in Africa in 2016 before spreading to Asia in 2018. Host plant resistance is an important component of integrated pest management (IPM). By leveraging tropical insect-resistant maize germplasm developed in Mexico, coupled with elite stress-resilient maize germplasm developed in sub-Saharan Africa, CIMMYT worked intensively over the past three years to identify and validate sources of native genetic resistance to fall armyworm in Africa. This included screening over 3,500 hybrids in 2018 and 2019.