Effect of vitamin-enriched artificial diets on the biology of the rice moth, Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton)

Abstract

A laboratory study on effect of different artificial diet enriched with vitamins on the biological parameters of Corcyra cephalonica was carried out at the Biological Control Research Laboratory, ICAR Unit-9, AAU, Anand (Gujarat) during 2024-25. Seven different diets comprising a base diet of sorghum, crushed groundnut seeds, and powdered yeast supplemented with different vitamins viz., Vitamin A, Vitamin B complex, Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), Vitamin E, Vitamin H and Multivitamin were used to rear the larvae of C. cephalonica. The different diets had no significant effect on the incubation period of the rice moth. The C. cephalonica exhibited shortest larval period (26.56 days), pupal period (7.04 days), maximum adult emergence percentage (98.48 %), highest female biased sex ratio (1.80), minimum female (47.56 days) and male (44.52 days) developmental period, the shortest total developmental period (46.04 days), preoviposition (1.00 day) and post oviposition (1.02 days) period, longest oviposition period (5.88 days), maximum fecundity (378.50 eggs), exceptionally elevated growth index and maximum food efficiency index (12.84), when reared on diet (Sorghum + Groundnut + Powdered yeast + Vit A). The longest female (9.84 days) and male (6.08 days) longevity was reported on diet (Sorghum + Groundnut + Powdered Yeast + Vitamin E). The treatment combination of Sorghum + Groundnut + Powdered Yeast exhibited the least favorable outcomes across the majority of parameters observed.