Abstract
The melon fruit fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) is a quarantine insect pest worldwide and affects the vegetable quality through its direct feeding and indirectly by passing way for secondary pathogens. This study investigated the host susceptibility, preference and offspring performance of Z. cucurbitae under the laboratory conditions. Different vegetable hosts i.e., brinjal (Solanum melongena L.), bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.), zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.), bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria [Molina] Standley) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) were tested under no choice and free choice tests. Results showed that C. sativus and C. pepo have highest number of visits/host and oviposition puncture/host. C. sativus showed highest pupal recovery and pupal weight in both only choice and free choice test. While, highest percentage of emergence and female off springs were observed in C. pepo under only choice and free choice scenarios. Furthermore, maximum deformities in progeny were observed in case of L. siceraria under both test case scenarios. The current study provides exploratory support that fruit flies respond differently to host species that co-exists in field under choice and no choice test. Further, hosts of advantage to fruit flies are adopted more. The host and choice preference of fruit flies have the influence on the pest management strategies for the vegetable crops.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
