Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

OVIPOSITION PREFERENCE OF FALL ARMYWORM SPODOPTERA FRUGIPERDA (LEPIDOPTERA:NOCTUIDAE) (J.E.SMITH) AMONG MONOCOT AND DICOT PLANTS

A. Lackisha Navin V.R. Saminathan, S. Sheeba Joyce Roseleen and Venugopal Rajanbabu

Abstract

Oviposition preference of Spodoptera frugiperda was studied on both monocot (rice, maize, sorghum, cumbu, cumbu napier, ragi and sugarcane) and dicot plants (cotton, castor, groundnut, sunflower, red gram, black gram and cowpea) under the laboratory condition. S.frugiperda moths highly preferred bottom and middle canopy of maize and cumbu napier for oviposition than other plants in both the free choice and no choice tests. In no choice test, S.frugiperda laid eggs on all the monocot and dicot plants except black gram, red gram and cowpea, in free choice test it completely prefered monocot plants. In monocots, pre oviposition period was shortest on cumbu napier (2.52 ± 0.22) and longest on ragi (3.79 ± 0.21), oviposition period was shortest on ragi (5.20 ± 0.19) and longest on maize (6.20 ± 0.36), egg mass per plant was maximum on maize (5.2 ± 0.57) and eggs per egg mass were maximum on sorghum (105 ± 19.89), egg mass per plant and eggs per egg mass were minimum on ragi (2.6 ± 0.54 and 45.8 ± 8.25). In dicots, pre oviposition period was shortest on cotton (4.20 ± 0.20) and longest on groundnut (5.62 ± 0.23), oviposition period was shortest on groundnut (3.33 ± 0.28) and longest on castor (5.04 ± 0.16), minimum egg mass per plant and eggs per egg mass were recorded on groundnut (2.9 ± 0.54 and 4.2 ± 3.56) and egg mass per plant was maximum on cotton (4 ± 0.79), eggs per egg mass were maximum on castor (47.8 ± 3.34).