Morphological characterization of Helicoverpa armigera Hübner populations from various hosts in Punjab

Helicoverpa armigera Hübner occurring on different host plants revealed a significant variation in morphometric traits studied among the populations. The cotton population recorded the maximum larval weight (532.36± 4.45 mg) while minimum was recorded in the sunflower population (402.07± 4.46 mg). The cotton population also recorded significantly longer larval length (25.86± 0.33 mm) which was at par with the pigeon pea population of (24.93± 0.24). The male and female pupae of H. armigera were significantly heavier in cotton (254.16± 1.41 and 282.73± 2.64 mg, respectively). Male and female pupal length was also longest in cotton population (17.05± 0.47 and 17.23± 0.25 mm, respectively). Cotton and pigeon pea populations possessed significantly higher means for majority of the traits compared to populations from other hosts.