Response of the Cotton Bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to Different Semi-Artificial Diets

Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) is one of the major limiting factors in host plant production in the world and Iran. In this study, the effect of semi-artificial diets based on the seeds of different cultivars of white and red kidney bean, canola, soybean, and cowpea on eco-physiological parameters of H. armigera were investigated. The results showed that the shortest (۲۲.۷۱ days) and longest (۲۸.۹۴ days) development time of H. armigera was observed on cowpea cultivar Mashhad and canola cultivar Opera, respectively. The maximum immature mortality of H. armigera was on soybean cultivars M۷ and Clark. Cowpea cultivar Mashhad had the highest r (۰.۲۹۹ day-۱). The lowest level of proteolytic activity was ۲.۸۲۹ U mg-۱ on soybean cultivar M۷ for the ۳rd instar larvae, ۲.۵۲۵ U mg-۱ on soybean cultivars Crark for the ۴th instar larvae, and ۲.۲۹۲ U mg-۱ on soybean cultivar Sari for the ۵th instar larvae. Nutritional indices of ۳rd, ۴th, ۵th, ۶th and whole instar larvae of H. armigera were affected by the artificial diets, i.e. seeds of different cultivars. According to the results, semi-artificial diets containing bean seeds (specifically cowpea cultivar Mashhad and white kidney bean cultivar Daneshkadeh) were more suitable than semi-artificial diets containing soybean and canola seeds for rearing of H. armigera.

Keywords:

Beans , Cowpea , Enzyme , Life table