Growth and Development of Spodoptera litura Fabricius on Different Host Plants Rani Seema, Goel B.B.*, Gupta G.P. Division of Entomology, I.A.R.I., New Delhi no 012. * Department of Zoology, D.A.V. College, Muzaffar Nagar 251 001, India. Abstract The growth and development of Spodoptera litura was studied on ten different host plants, viz., cauliflower (Brassica oleracea), mustard (Brassica compestris), kidney bean (Dolichos labfab), french bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), castor (Ricinus communis), spinach (Beta vulgaris), pea pod (Pisum sativum), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), under laboratory conditions. On the basis of larval weight, larval period, pupal weight, pupal period, percentage pupation, sex ratio in pupal stage, survival percentage, number of hatched eggs/female, growth index and developmental index values, cauliflower was found as most preferred host (growth index 6.36, developmental index 3.20 and survival 70%) followed by mustard (growth index 4.32, developmental index 2.53 and survival 68%). Pea pod, tobacco and cotton were least preferred host plants and had retarding effect on the growth rate of S. litura resulting in a prolonged larval period, least survival percentage, minimum larval and pupal weight and growth and developmental indices. Top Key words Development, Growth, Host plant, Spodoptera litura. Top |