Vol. 10, Special Issue 10 (2021)

Author(s):
Sivaranjani RS, Srinivasan T, Vinothkumar B and Ravikesavan R

Abstract:
Maize is an important cereal crop which has a three-fold use as food, feed and fodder in the Indian subcontinent, particularly with respect to farmers having small land holdings. Infestation by fall armyworm (FAW) results in substantial yield losses besides decrease in quality of the produce. Being an invasive species, the basic information on the study of biology and host survival on different hosts will provide a broader understanding of the pest’s capability to survive on other hosts. An understanding on the pest’s performance on alternate hosts in the absence of preferred host may help forecast the possibility of its attack on other crop plants and accordingly device effective pest management methods. Survival of FAW was highest in maize (90.3%), followed by sorghum (82.6%) and pearl millet (80.5%) among eleven hosts studied. Feeding preference by first instar larvae in four arm olfactometer showed that, maize was the most preferred host than sorghum and pearl millet. Similarly, ovipositional preference of female moths in cages and in Y tube olfactometer also revealed that moths were attracted more to maize plant. Nutritional indices studies revealed that maize registered the highest preference in terms of Consumption Index (CI) (1.8), Consumption Rate (CR) (8.9), Growth Rate (GR) (2) and Approximate Digestibility (AD) (75.8) of fall armyworm.