Consumption and use of soybean by the caterpillar Helicoverpa armigera

Abstract

A deep insight into the population dynamics of a pest can be achieved by being acquainted with its nutritional ecology, which further assists in understanding the damage potential and decisions to control mainly in diversified production systems such as those in Brazil. The present r research aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary regimens, comprising combinations of acessible organs of soybean plants, at different stages of development, consumption, and utilization of food by the 4th, 5th, and 6thlarvae instar of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lep.: Noctuidae). For this purpose, the vegetative and reproductive organs of soybean were brought together in three feeding regimes, followed by making it available to caterpillars. After evaluations, it was found that under laboratory conditions, the development of H. armigera 4th to 6th instar caterpillars was better when they werepurely fed on leaves than on combinations of vegetative and reproductive parts, such as fresh leaves + old leaves + pods at the beginning of grain development, and old leaves + pods at the beginning of grain development +pods with well-developed grain.

Preferência alimentar de Helicoverpa armigera a diferentes cultivares de soja com tecnologia Bt

“…Na cultura da soja, lagartas de H. armigera, causam danos em folhas, vagens e grãos, sendo que lagartas de primeiro instar possuem preferência alimentar por folhas novas, enquanto as lagartas de quarto e sexto instar não possuem preferência por um órgão específico, podendo se alimentar de folhas novas, velhas, vagens e grãos, sendo que o consumo do órgão vegetativo e/ou reprodutivo pode influenciar no desempenho da espécie [6,7,8]. Foi registrado prejuízo de US$ 4 bilhões na safra brasileira de 2012/2013 pela ocorrência de H. armigera, sendo relatada sua ocorrência em cultivares transgênicas de soja contendo o gene Bt [4,9].…”