Khan Z.R., Midega C.A.O., Wadhams L.J., Pickett J.A., Mumuni A.
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), P.O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya; Biological Chemistry Department, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom; Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 52, Nyankpala, Tamale, Ghana
Khan, Z.R., International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), P.O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya; Midega, C.A.O., International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), P.O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya; Wadhams, L.J., Biological Chemistry Department, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom; Pickett, J.A., Biological Chemistry Department, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom; Mumuni, A., Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 52, Nyankpala, Tamale, Ghana
We evaluated eight Napier grass [Pennisetum purpureum Schumach (Poaceae)] varieties, used in various parts of eastern Africa as fodder, for their potential role as trap plants in the management of the African stemborer, Busseola fusca Füller (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) through a push-pull strategy. Oviposition preference, larval orientation, settling, arrest and dispersal, feeding, mortality and survival, and development were determined for each of these varieties under laboratory and screen house conditions. Two-choice tests showed that only two of the varieties tested (cv. Bana and cv. Uganda Hairless) were preferentially chosen by gravid female moths for oviposition over a susceptible maize variety, cv. Western Hybrid 502. Larval preference was, however, highly variable. Larval feeding by first instars on the maize leaves was more intense and significantly more than on leaves of all the Napier grass varieties evaluated. Food consumed and amounts assimilated by the third instars over a 24-h period were not different among larvae fed on stems of maize and those fed on stems of the various Napier grass varieties. Larval survival was significantly lower on all the Napier grass varieties (below 3%) than on maize (about 44%). Similarly, larval development was about 2-3 weeks longer on majority of the Napier grass varieties. It was concluded that cv. Bana had potential for use as a trap plant in the management of B. fusca because it was more preferred by the moths for oviposition, equally preferred as maize by the larvae for orientation, settling, and arrest, and allowed minimal survival of the larvae. It can thus be used with such 'push' plants as Desmodium spp. (Fabaceae) in a 'push-pull' strategy, but the effectiveness of such a strategy would strictly depend on proper establishment and management of these companion plants. © 2007 The Authors.
crop pest; feeding behavior; grass; habitat management; larval development; larval settlement; maize; mortality; moth; oviposition; pest control; stem borer; survival; trap crop; Africa; East Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Animalia; Busseola fusca; Desmodium; Fabaceae; Lepidoptera; Noctuidae; Pennisetum glaucum; Pennisetum purpureum; Poaceae; Zea mays