Abstract

AREVALO MALDONADO, Helber  and  ZENNER DE POLANIA, Ingeborg. EVALUATION OF MERIDIC DIETS FOR REARING Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. SMITH) (LEPIDOPTERA: NOCTUIDAE) UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS. rev.udcaactual.divulg.cient. [online]. 2009, vol.12, n.1, pp.91-100. ISSN 0123-4226.

Spodoptera frugiperda is one of the omnivorous insects of mayor importance in the American neo-tropic, due to its attacks of many crops, specially cotton and corn. For both crops, transgenic cultivars are proposed as a tool of pest management. In order to determine the efficacy of Bt crops and to monitor possible insect resistance through time to the incorporated toxins, research regarding insect rearing on meridic diets, in which Bacillus thuringiensis toxins can be incorporated and furthermore provide the required nutritional conditions and reduce costs, has to be evaluated. This study sought to define an adequate artificial diet for rearing the fall armyworm, which meets the above mentioned characteristics. An initial S. frugiperda population was collected at Anolaima (Department of Cundinamarca) and its development was studied, through three consecutive generations, on ICRISAT Diet 3, modified Greene, modified Shorey & Hale diet and corn leaves as natural food. With all diets the insect´s development was attained, but differences in life cycle duration, survival and larval and pupal weight were observed. Best results were obtained with the ICRISAT diet: larvae presented a shorter developmental time, a minor number of instars, and higher weights, for larvae and pupae. Its survival was nearly 100%. For this reason, the use of ICRISAT diet for toxicological studies, where the incorporation of a Cry toxin is required, is suggested.

Keywords : Fall armyworm; rearing techniques; bioassays; Cry toxins; survival.

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