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The bird cherry-oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi L. (Homoptera: Aphididae) is one of the main pests in a number of crops in the semiarid Pampas of Argentina. In the present study, the effect of different host plants, including Triticum aestivum L., ×Triticosecale Wittm., Hordeum vulgare L., Hordeum distichum L., Avena sativa L., and Secale cereale L. on biological parameters of R. padi L. was studied in the laboratory at 24 ± 1 °C, 65 ± 10% RH and a 14:10 photoperiod. Longevity, intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm), net reproductive rate (R0), mean generation time (T), doubling time (DT), and finite rate of increase (λ) of the bird cherry-oat aphid on the different cereal crops were estimated. Differences in fertility life table parameters of R. padi among host plants were analyzed using pseudo-values, which were produced by Jackknife re-sampling. Results indicated that beer barley might be the most suitable food for R. padi due to greater adult longevity (20.88 d), higher fecundity (41 nymphs female-1), higher intrinsic rate of natural increase (0.309 females female-1 d-1), lower doubling time (2.24), and lower nymphal mortality (22.2%). Therefore, it can be concluded from the present study that R. padi prefers beer barley for fast and healthy development over other cereal crops.

These results showed that the essential oils from S. areira, R. officinalis and T. terniflora could be used as an alternative in the management of M. dirhodum.