Suitability of Centella asiatica (pegaga) as a food source for rearing Spodoptera litura (F.) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) under laboratory conditions

When conducting entomological research, it is necessary to have a sufficient quantity of the desired pest. One of the pests commonly used in research is Spodoptera litura. Mass rearing of herbivorous caterpillars like S. litura requires large amounts of a suitable food source. Hence, the use of an e...

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Main Authors: Javar, Saeedeh, Sajap, Ahmad Said, Mohamed, Rozi, Lau, Wei Hong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter Open 2013
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/29115/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/29115/1/e.pdf
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author Javar, Saeedeh
Sajap, Ahmad Said
Mohamed, Rozi
Lau, Wei Hong
author_facet Javar, Saeedeh
Sajap, Ahmad Said
Mohamed, Rozi
Lau, Wei Hong
author_sort Javar, Saeedeh
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description When conducting entomological research, it is necessary to have a sufficient quantity of the desired pest. One of the pests commonly used in research is Spodoptera litura. Mass rearing of herbivorous caterpillars like S. litura requires large amounts of a suitable food source. Hence, the use of an easy-to-grow host plant would be most practical and reasonable. Centella asiatica known as ‘pegaga’ grows easily, produces plenty of leaves, and is available throughout the year in Malaysia. The suitability of C. asiatica as a food source for S. litura was evaluated by studying the biology of this pest on excised C. asiatica leaves, under laboratory conditions. S. litura completed its whole life cycle in 29 to 35 days. The mean pupal weight and the average number of eggs laid by a single female were 0.341 g and 1,930 eggs, respectively. Daily monitoring of the larval development stages as well as analysis on the width of head capsules, revealed the existence of six instars during the larval stages of S. litura. The cumulative survival rate for immature developmental stages was 80%, while the stage-specific survivorship was over 90%. This study demonstrated the use of ‘pegaga’ as a suitable new food source for when rearing S. litura larvae in the laboratory.
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spelling upm-291152016-04-25T02:22:50Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/29115/ Suitability of Centella asiatica (pegaga) as a food source for rearing Spodoptera litura (F.) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) under laboratory conditions Javar, Saeedeh Sajap, Ahmad Said Mohamed, Rozi Lau, Wei Hong When conducting entomological research, it is necessary to have a sufficient quantity of the desired pest. One of the pests commonly used in research is Spodoptera litura. Mass rearing of herbivorous caterpillars like S. litura requires large amounts of a suitable food source. Hence, the use of an easy-to-grow host plant would be most practical and reasonable. Centella asiatica known as ‘pegaga’ grows easily, produces plenty of leaves, and is available throughout the year in Malaysia. The suitability of C. asiatica as a food source for S. litura was evaluated by studying the biology of this pest on excised C. asiatica leaves, under laboratory conditions. S. litura completed its whole life cycle in 29 to 35 days. The mean pupal weight and the average number of eggs laid by a single female were 0.341 g and 1,930 eggs, respectively. Daily monitoring of the larval development stages as well as analysis on the width of head capsules, revealed the existence of six instars during the larval stages of S. litura. The cumulative survival rate for immature developmental stages was 80%, while the stage-specific survivorship was over 90%. This study demonstrated the use of ‘pegaga’ as a suitable new food source for when rearing S. litura larvae in the laboratory. De Gruyter Open 2013 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/29115/1/e.pdf Javar, Saeedeh and Sajap, Ahmad Said and Mohamed, Rozi and Lau, Wei Hong (2013) Suitability of Centella asiatica (pegaga) as a food source for rearing Spodoptera litura (F.) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) under laboratory conditions. Journal of Plant Protection Research, 53 (2). pp. 184-189. ISSN 1427-4345; ESSN: 1899-007X http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/jppr.2013.53.issue-2/jppr-2013-0028/jppr-2013-0028.xml 10.2478/jppr-2013-0028
spellingShingle Javar, Saeedeh
Sajap, Ahmad Said
Mohamed, Rozi
Lau, Wei Hong
Suitability of Centella asiatica (pegaga) as a food source for rearing Spodoptera litura (F.) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) under laboratory conditions
title Suitability of Centella asiatica (pegaga) as a food source for rearing Spodoptera litura (F.) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) under laboratory conditions
title_full Suitability of Centella asiatica (pegaga) as a food source for rearing Spodoptera litura (F.) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) under laboratory conditions
title_fullStr Suitability of Centella asiatica (pegaga) as a food source for rearing Spodoptera litura (F.) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) under laboratory conditions
title_full_unstemmed Suitability of Centella asiatica (pegaga) as a food source for rearing Spodoptera litura (F.) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) under laboratory conditions
title_short Suitability of Centella asiatica (pegaga) as a food source for rearing Spodoptera litura (F.) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) under laboratory conditions
title_sort suitability of centella asiatica (pegaga) as a food source for rearing spodoptera litura (f.) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) under laboratory conditions
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/29115/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/29115/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/29115/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/29115/1/e.pdf