Performance of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Fed on Six Host Plants: Potential Risks to Mid-high Latitude Crops in China

Abstract

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a polyphggous and widespread insect pest. In the study, the biological characteristics and nutritional indices of S. frugiperda fed on six crops, namely corn, sorghum, wheat, soybean, peanut, and cotton, were investigated under laboratory conditions. These crops are cultivated mainly in the mid-high latitude of China. Results showed that S. frugiperda was able to develop and reproduce on all six tested plants. Larvae reared on corn exhibited a significant shorter larval and pupal duration, higher pupal weight, and higher fecundity, which were 16.2 d, 8.9 d, 0.248 g, and 979.4 eggs per female, respectively. The host plant significantly affected relative growth, consumption, and metabolic rates, as well as other nutritional indices. Biology and nutritional indexes suggested that corn was the most suitable host. Besides, peanut, sorghum, and wheat have also been shown to be the suitable hosts for S. frugiperda. Although cotton and soybean were found to be less adequate, high larval and pupal survivors recorded on cotton and soybean leaves have indicated that damage may occur in these plants. This work reveals the damage risk of potential hosts of S. frugiperda, lays the foundation for the design of pest management strategies.

First Record of the Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Sorghum Plants, A new invasive pest in Upper Egypt

“…In addition, larvae and adults from the field and laboratory rearing were confirmed as S. frugiperda through their morphological characteristics as reported by (Passoa, 1991;EPPO, 2015;Day et al, 2017;Ganiger et al, 2018;Sharanabasappa et al, 2018;CABI, 2019;Sartiami et al, 2020). This is the first record in Upper Egypt on sorghum crops; however, it has already been reported from the neighboring countries such as India, China, Cameroon and Uganda (Venkateswarlu et al, 2018;Jiang et al, 2019;Fotso Kuate et al, 2019;Chen et al, 2020;Hailu et al, 2021). Later, FAW has seriously threatened the production of local alternative crops, besides the preferable maize crop.…”

Development, Survival and Reproduction of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Fed an Artificial Diet or on Cotton, Castor Bean and Corn Leaves

“…However, the additional instar with cotton leaves and corn indicates adverse conditions when larvae cannot reach a specific size threshold for metamorphosis [ 52 ] because of the cumulative toxic effect of gossypol and hydroxamic acid (HA) in cotton and corn leaves, respectively [ 39 , 48 ]. The duration of the larval stage of S. frugiperda with cotton leaves was longer than the 18 [ 14 ], 21 [ 18 ] and 21 [ 21 ] days with cotton leaves of FMT 701, Acala 90 and Shiyuan 321, respectively, at similar temperatures. On the other hand, the duration of the larval stage, with corn leaves, was similar to the 16 days [ 14 ] with corn leaves DKB 360 and greater than the 13.7 [ 18 ] and 14.5 [ 21 ] days with the BRS Caatingueiro and Zhengdan 958 corn leaves, respectively, at a similar temperature.…”

“…On the other hand, the lower survival rate of the larval stage of S. frugiperda with cotton leaves, followed by those with castor bean, can be attributed, respectively, to the ingestion of gossypol and ricinin, with toxic effects, especially in the initial instars of generalist caterpillars such as S. frugiperda [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]. Survival of S. frugiperda caterpillars with cotton and corn leaves was lower than that of 72% and 98% with leaves of the Acala 90 cotton and BRS catingueiro corn [ 18 ] and 89% and 91% with leaves of cotton Shyuan 321 and corn Zhengdan 958 [ 21 ], respectively, at similar temperatures. This indicates that variations in survival are due to differences between the cotton and corn cultivars, as the nutritional quality varies between species [ 47 ] and varieties [ 48 ] of host plants.…”

“…The high survival of S. frugiperda pre-pupae and pupae that originated from caterpillars fed with castor bean, corn and cotton leaves is due to the reduced effect of ricinin, hydroxamic acid (HA) and gossypol, the main secondary metabolites in the leaves of these plants [ 39 , 41 , 49 ]. The pupal survival of S. frugiperda with leaves, respectively, of cotton and corn, was lower and higher than the 89% and 91% with leaves of these plants for this insect at similar temperatures [ 21 ], which may be attributed to the differences between the cotton and corn cultivars used.…”

“…The biology of S. frugiperda has been studied in several plant species [ 14 , 20 , 21 ], but the characteristics of this pest fed on cotton, castor bean or corn leaves have not been investigated. This is important, as these plants are cultivated in Brazil in an intercropping and/or succession system in small and large rural properties, respectively.…”