Comparison of the Life Cycle Related Parameters of Bracon hebetor say on Helicoverpa armigera Hubner Reared on different Hosts

Author: Nivedita Shah, Jayalaxmi Ganguli A.K. Bhowmick and Sachin Kumar Jaiswal

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Abstract

Helicoverpa armigera is a prolific, widespread, troublesome and difficult to control insect due to its high mobility, high fecundity and ability to develop resistance against chemical insecticides. In recent years, efforts are being focused on the development of eco-friendly and non-chemical strategies for insect pest management, among which the use of natural enemies ie. parasitoids and predatorsis gaining popularity and spreading its wings across the world including India. Bracon hebetor is one of the important and effective larval ectoparasitoids, that attacks a variety of lepidopteran pests of field crops including the notorious H. armigera. Since diet plays an important role in the growth and life cycle related parameters of any insect, particularly for polyphagous pests, which further acts as a decisive factor for the parasitoids, choosing their host for attack. Hence, it is imperative to know the best suitable diet, therefore, the present study on the comparison of life cycle

Keywords

Bracon hebetor, life stages, H. armigera, parasitoid, fecundity, developmental time.

Conclusion

Thus, among the nine hosts tested, C. cephalonica was found to be highly suitable for the rearing of B. hebetor which is evident by maximum oviposition and emergence of adults with a shortest developmental period of various immature stages. However, H. armigera larvae reared on chickpea and marigold were also found suitable for the rearing of B. hebetor in case the factitious host, C. cephalonica was not available, followed by the larvae reared on tomato, soybean, maize, and artificial diet, whereas pigeon pea and cabbage were found to be least effective for the rearing of the ectoparasitoid, B. hebetor. Since, H. armigera is causing high economic losses to farmers, the utilization of B. hebetor parasitoids might be helpful to facilitate farmers in the control of economically important crop pests of Lepidoptera order. Hence, proper timing of release synchronizing with the availability of hosts would ensure successful control of H. armigera.

References

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How to cite this article

Shah, N., Ganguli. J., Bhowmick, A.K. and Jaiswal, S.K. (2021). Comparison of the Life Cycle Related Parameters of Bracon hebetor say on Helicoverpa armigera Hubner Reared on different Hosts. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 13(1): 602-606.