Study on the Biotic Potential and Nutritional Indices of Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Different Host Plants
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Date
2024
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MPUAT, Udaipur
Abstract
The destructive lepidopteran pest, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E.
Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) showed resistance to various groups of insecticides,
underscoring the urgent need for economically and ecologically viable management
techniques. This necessity is addressed by identifying FAW's preferred hosts and this
study primarily focused on assessing the impact of different host plants and an artificial
diet composed of chickpea powder, wheat germ and corn flour on various nutritional
indices and biotic potential parameters of the FAW under laboratory conditions at the
Department of Entomology, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur. FAW larvae
completed the lifecycle in 35.92 ± 0.33 days within the host maize, with the longest
duration observed in Desmodium and brinjal at 56.33 ± 0.67 days and 56.14 ± 0.94
days, respectively. The third instar larval weight was reported to be highest on maize at
0.05 ± 0.002 g and the fourth, fifth, and sixth instar’s weights were the highest on
soybean and ranged from 0.15 ± 0.011 to 0.50 ± 0.01 g. Pupae development was better
on an artificial diet, with a weight of 0.22 ± 0.01 g, length of 1,60 ± 0.02 cm, and width
of 0.41 ± 0.004 cm. The number of egg masses and eggs laid by the adult females of
FAW was observed to be the highest on the artificial diet, 13.33 ± 0.88 and 1315 ±
64.51, respectively.
When examining the nutritional indices value of third instar larvae, cabbage
showed the highest ECI & ECD values (23.10 ± 3.03 %, 34.64 ± 4.75 %, respectively).
In contrast, these values were lowest on an artificial diet (ECI: 16.55 ± 1.19 % and
ECD: 16.07 ± 1.09, respectively). The AD of the 3rd instar was the highest on an
artificial diet (83.94 ± 1.14 %). The highest value of RGR and CI were observed on
artificial diet (0.84 ± 0.06 g/g body wt/day and 5.10 ± 0.20 g/g body wt/day,
respectively), while the lowest were on Desmodium (0.41 ± 0.02 g/g body wt/day and
2.44 ± 0.38 g/g body wt/day, respectively). In the case of fourth instar larvae, ECI was highest on brinjal (22.96 ± 1.14 %) and lowest on tomato (18.93 ± 0.65 %). ECD values
were highest on cabbage (39.31 ± 2.00 %) and lowest on an artificial diet (24.19 ± 2.36
%). AD of fourth instar larvae was the highest on tomato (69.64 ± 1.73 %) and the
lowest on maize (51.87 ± 1.21 %). However, RGR was the highest on brinjal (0.67 ±
0.02 g/g body wt/day). The highest CI was on soybean (3.50 ± 0.12 g/g body wt/day)
and the lowest on Desmodium (1.79 ± 0.17 g/g body wt/day). The FAW's ECI value
for fifth instar larvae peaked on Desmodium (23.46 ± 1.61 %) and was lowest on maize
(9.15 ± 0.37 %). The highest ECD value for the fifth instar was recorded on brinjal
(30.08 ± 1.08 %) and the lowest on the artificial diet (23.33 ± 0.83 %). RGR was highest
on the artificial diet (0.54 ± 0.02 g/g body wt/day) and lowest on cabbage (0.19 ± 0.01
g/g body wt/day). AD reached its peak on tomato (64.26 ± 1.61 %). On the artificial
diet, the CI of the fifth instar was the highest, at 3.00 ± 0.11 g/g body wt/day. The ECI
of sixth instar larvae had the highest recorded on Desmodium (19.19 ± 1.68 %). ECD
peaked on cabbage (26.32 ± 3.31 %) and was lowest on the artificial diet (14.29 ± 0.97
%). The highest AD value was found for tomato (58.94 ± 2.32 g/g body wt/day) and
the lowest for soybean (32.79 ± 2.06 g/g body wt/day). Brinjal showed the highest RGR
value (0.22 ± 0.01), while maize had the smallest (0.15 ± 0.02 g/g body wt/day). Tomato
had the highest CI value for sixth instar larvae (1.64 ± 0.10 g/g body wt/day), while
Desmodium had the lowest (1.00 ± 0.11 g/g body wt/day).
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Citation
Sruthi K.K. and Babu S.R.