Effect of Different Host Plants on the Biology of Diamond-Back Moth, Plutella Xylostella Under Laboratory Conditions in Northern Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Ramzan,Marim Nasir,Muhammad Amin,Muhammad Zahid,Abdullah Bin Umar

doi:10.21608/eajbsf.2021.140822

Abstract

Plutella xylostella is an oligophagous pest of several host plants belonging to the family Cruciferae (cauliflower, cabbage, canola). This is widely distributed in all those areas where its hosts exist and cause severe crop losses. The current study was conducted to check the effect of host plants such as cabbage, cauliflower and canola on the biology of P. xylostella. The effect on incubation period, growth, development time, fecundity, oviposition, % survival and % egg viability was studied on canola, cabbage and cauliflower. The developmental time from 1st instar to adult emergence was longest (18 days) on canola while shortest on cauliflower (15 days). Fecundity was recorded maximum (259 eggs) on cauliflower and minimum (159 eggs) on canola. Percentage survival of each stage was recorded maximum on cauliflower (84%) followed by cabbage (73%) and canola (69%). A significant difference was observed intheintrinsic rate of increase, rm with host plants. The intrinsic rate of increase(0.290) and finite rate of increase values (1.35) were obtained on cauliflower while 0.283, 1.30 and 0.239, 1.23 on cabbage and canola, respectively. Cauliflower was found to be the most preferable host for P. xylostella due to higher percentage of survival, higher fecundity, higher % egg viability and shorter developmental period. The study provides knowledge about the host plants that prove helpful in enhancing the P. xylostella population.

Highlights

Agricultural crops such as cabbage, cauliflowers, canola, mustard and many other crops are playing a key role in the economy of Pakistan
Muhammad Ramzan (Pieris brassicae), armyworm (Spodoptera litura), cabbage looper (Trichoplusia binotalis) and diamond-back moth, (Plutella xylostella) (Aslam et al, 2007; Aslam and Razaq, 2011; Ramzan et al, 2019a). Among all these mentioned insect pests, diamond-back moth, (Plutella xylostella) belong to order Lepidoptera and family Plutellidae is considered a serious pest of cabbage (Sarfraz et al, 2010; Furlong et al, 2013) which become the cause of more than one billion crop losses per year throughout the globe (Furlong et al, 2008; Sandström et al, 2011; Karlsson et al, 2013)
Three different host plants were tested to check their effect on the biology of P. xylostella under laboratory conditions

Summary

Introduction

Agricultural crops such as cabbage, cauliflowers, canola, mustard and many other crops are playing a key role in the economy of Pakistan. Muhammad Ramzan (Pieris brassicae), armyworm (Spodoptera litura), cabbage looper (Trichoplusia binotalis) and diamond-back moth, (Plutella xylostella) (Aslam et al, 2007; Aslam and Razaq, 2011; Ramzan et al, 2019a) Among all these mentioned insect pests, diamond-back moth, (Plutella xylostella) belong to order Lepidoptera and family Plutellidae is considered a serious pest of cabbage (Sarfraz et al, 2010; Furlong et al, 2013) which become the cause of more than one billion crop losses per year throughout the globe (Furlong et al, 2008; Sandström et al, 2011; Karlsson et al, 2013). This destructive pest is widely distributed (Shelton, 2004; Abro et al, 1994; Khaliq et al, 2007) and has been recorded from more than 128 countries of the world

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