Study on the Consumption Index and Growth Rate of Acrotylus humbertianus Saussure on Different Diet under Scanning Electron Microscope

Abstract

Acrotylus humbertianus Saussure is a major agriculture pest in Sindh. This species consumes a wide variety of food plants from different families. In order to test it preference on different diets a conformity chemical analysis has been done under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for the first time. The maximum consumption index (CI) of all stages A. humbertianus on cabbage was recorded 0.042-0.78 mg/day followed by 0.2-0.42mg/d on sugarcane and 0.019-0.43mg/d on maize, while least CI was calculated i-e 0.016-0.39 mg/day on mix diet. Beside this, growth rate (GR) of A. humbertianus on these food plants indicates that (GR) was highest on sugarcane i-e 0.016-0.25mg/d followed by 0.02 -0.62mg/d and 0.013-0.35mg/d on cabbage and maize respectively, while it was 0.011-0.32 mg/d on mixed diet. The first and second instars of A. humbertianus differed significantly in their consumption, indices on all four host plants and the highest consumption index was recorded on adult female fed on cabbage (0.78), while the growth rate (GR) of A. humbertianus on four plants i-e sugarcane, cabbage, maize and mixed diet was observed highest on cabbage i-e 0.040mg/ g day followed by maize, sugarcane and mixed diet i-e 0.031 mg/g day, 0.029 mg/g day and 0.020 mg/g day respectively. From nymphal stages highest growth rate was recorded in second and third instars i-e 0.043 mg/g day, fed on cabbage.