Chrysodeixis chalcites (Esper) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) oviposition preferences on different growing stages of banana (Musa acuminate Colla, Musaceae) plants

Abstract

Banana (Musa acuminate Colla, cultivar Grand Nain) is the main crop in Canary Islands, covering an area of about 9000 ha with a production in 2017 of 437.782 t of banana worth 104.4 million Euros. Today, one of the most used pest control method is the Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which takes into account the different management options for pest control, giving priority to the least harmful solutions. This research aims to improve the use of IPM to control populations of Chrysodeixis chalcites through understanding growing stage and specific preferences on banana plants as preliminary experiments. Our main focus was to investigate the oviposition preference of C. chalcites (Esper) adults by counting all present eggs and larvae on the plant seven days after adult release into cages. The combination of two plants through three growing stages (young plant, mature plants without bunch and mature plants with bunch) were tested over 48 banana plants into six different field cages. Significant difference in ovipositional behaviour was found between the three growing stages of banana plants. In order to detect C. chalcites populations on banana plantations, it can be suggested to look firstly to the 5th leaf on young plants, secondly to the 8th leaf on pants with bunch, and finally plants without bunch. In all cases, more eggs and first instar larvae were found on young plants and on the underside of the leaves.