Shafiya Rashid, Rakesh Kumar Gupta1, RS. Bandral1, Kamlesh Bali, S.K. Singh,Susheel Sharma and Kamal Kishor Sood
Abstract
In order to manage the invasive pest the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda in north India, the survey was carried out for the presence of NPV infected Spodoptera frugiperda larvae. The NPV infected larvae were collected from different locations, the virus was confirmed by phase contrast microscopy and pathogenicity studies. Healthy larvae fed with polyhedral suspension confirmed the pathogenicity of extracted virus. The NPV isolates exhibited significantly different degree of pathogenicity against the host population, where Jammu isolate caused highest mortality (92%) with the LD50 value of 1.01Ãâ105 POBs/larva against 2nd instar larvae. while only 31.33 and 19.33% mortality was inflicted by Rajouri and Akhnoor isolates, respectively. The concentration needed to induce a lethal infection by Rajouri and Akhnoor was exceptionally high, making it challenging to pinpoint a specific concentration that would be lethal for half of the population.