Response of the Cotton Bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to Different Semi-Artificial Diets

Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) is one of the major limiting factors in host plant production in the world and Iran. In this study, the effect of semi-artificial diets based on the seeds of different cultivars of white and red kidney bean, canola, soybean, and cowpea on eco-physiological parameters of H. armigera were investigated. The results showed that the shortest (22.71 days) and longest (28.94 days) development time of H. armigera was observed on cowpea cultivar Mashhad and canola cultivar Opera, respectively. The maximum immature mortality of H. armigera was on soybean cultivars M7 and Clark. Cowpea cultivar Mashhad had the highest r (0.299 day(-1)). The lowest level of proteolytic activity was 2.829 U mg(-1) on soybean cultivar M7 for the 3rd instar larvae, 2.525 U mg(-1) on soybean cultivars Crark for the 4th instar larvae, and 2.292 U mg(-1) on soybean cultivar Sari for the 5th instar larvae. Nutritional indices of 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and whole instar larvae of H. armigera were affected by the artificial diets, i.e. seeds of different cultivars. According to the results, semi-artificial diets containing bean seeds (specifically cowpea cultivar Mashhad and white kidney bean cultivar Daneshkadeh) were more suitable than semi-artificial diets containing soybean and canola seeds for rearing of H. armigera.