Department of Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru - 560 065, Karnataka, India
*Corresponding author's present address: ICAR-Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur - 441 108, Maharashtra, India, E-mail: madhuentomology@gmail.com
Online Published on 29 December, 2021.
Larvae of pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) were reared on four diets (two natural diets and two artificial diets) with varied nutritional value. Larval diet affects the survival, development duration, pupal weight, adult emergence and fecundity. PBW attained the fastest larval development on NRD (19.8 days) with a survival rate of 88.2% and slowest on NPD and okra (~27.1 days) with a survival rate of 47.5 and 58.1% respectively. Pupal weight was highest (26.86 mg) on NRD and reached maximum fecundity (107 eggs/female), while lowest fecundity on NPD (37 eggs/female). Among natural diets, egg hatching rate on cotton and okra were 87 and 71%. Adult emergence starts early and the adult eclosion window was narrow on cotton and NRD. Adult longevity was varied with diets, while female moths lived longer than males in all diet treatments.
Cotton, Okra, Pectionphora gossypiella, Poor diet and fecundity, Rich diet
