Feeding and Growth Response of Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) towards Different Host Plants

• Published in: Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2024-10, Vol.15 (10), p.789
• Main Authors: Ajmal, Muhammad Saqib, Ali, Sajjad, Jamal, Aftab, Saeed, Muhammad Farhan, Radicetti, Emanuele, Civolani, Stefano
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Angiosperms; Army-worms; Ashes; Beans; Brassica oleracea; Comparative analysis; Corn; Cotton; Crop rotation; Dietary minerals; Dry matter; Environmental aspects; Feeding; feeding indices; Females; Flowers & plants; Food and nutrition; Growth; Herbivores; Host plants; Humidity; Information management; Insecticides; Insects; Integrated pest management; Larvae; Larval development; larval growth; Leaves; Males; Nutrients; Nutrition; Nutritional aspects; nutritional compositions; Nutritional ecology; Okra; Parameters; Pest control; Pests; Physiological aspects; Plant layout; plant minerals; Potassium; Proteins; Ricinus communis; Spodoptera frugiperda; Sugarcane; Weight
• ISSN: 2075-4450; 2075-4450
• DOI: 10.3390/insects15100789

The fall armyworm, , is a major migratory polyphagous insect pest of various crops. The essential nutrient and mineral profile of the host plants determines the feeding fitness of herbivorous insects. As a result, the growth and development of insects is affected. To determine the effect of the nutrient and mineral profile of different host plants (maize, castor bean, cotton, cabbage, okra, and sugarcane) on the growth and development of , biological parameters like larval weight, pupal weight (male/female), and feeding and growth indices were calculated. The proximate compositions such as crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, and ash and mineral contents of the tested host plants showed significant differences ( < 0.05). The feeding indices on these host plants also differed significantly ( < 0.05). The maximum relative growth rate (RGR), relative consumption rate (RCR), and consumption index (CI) were recorded in larvae that fed on maize and castor bean leaves. The crude protein, dry matter, and ash contents in maize and castor bean were significantly higher and positively correlated with the RGR and RCR of larvae. The larval, male and female pupal weights were the maximum in the larvae feeding on the castor bean host plant. These findings provide novel information based on nutritional ecology to develop sustainable integrated pest management strategies using selective crop rotation.