Biological parameters of the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) reared on different artificial diets and their nutrients prominence

The cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera Hubner, is one of the most cosmopolitan key insect pests and its rearing is vital for integrated pest management. The goal of this research is to assess three diverse artificial diets for H. armigera rearing using common bean seed flour, chickpea seed flour or cotton seed flour, as basic constituent, along with other ingredients in similar proportions. Cotton flour-based artificial diet offered higher viability in egg, larva, prepupa, pupa and adult stages, and less developmental time (38.25 days) than chickpea flour-based (43.60 days) and bean flour-based (48.00 days) diets. Neonates reared on the cottonseed flour-based diet obtained excellent nutrition because cotton seeds have high contents of protein, oil, fibre and starch along with other minor compounds, compared to chickpea and bean seed-derived flours. The net reproductive rate, intrinsic rate of increase and finite rate of increase on the cotton-based diet were also superior for successive generations. It is concluded that although H. armigera larvae developed faster on cotton flour-based diet, results obtained on chickpea and bean flour-based diets tested can also be considered reasonably adequate for short and long periods of mass rearing.