BIOLOGY AND FEEDING PREFERENCE OF TOBACCO BUDWORM, Helicoverpa assulta (Guenee)

Abstract

The mean life cycle of tobacco budwom, Helicoverpa assulta (Guenee), reared in the laboratory on artificial diet is 48 days. Copulation started three to four days after emergence. Oviposition started one day after mating with peaks on the fifth to seventh day. A female can lay an average of 219 eggs. Average longevity is nine days for males and 11 days for females. Corn (Zea mays L.). sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers.), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), and "silisilihan" (Physalis angulata L.) were the most preferred hosts for feeding among the 20 plants tested in the laboratory. Tobacco and "silisilihan" were the primary hosts in the field. Larval coloration varied with the host plant fed on.