GROWTH OF FALL ARMYWORM (LEPIDOPTERA, NOCTUIDAE) LARVAE ON RESISTANT AND SUSCEPTIBLE CORN

Growth of larvae of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E.Smith), was evaluated in a laboratory bioassay on diets containing lyophilized leaf tissue of resistant and susceptible inbred lines of com, Zea mays L. Diets were prepared by adding lyophilized tissue of each of six inbred lines alone and in pairs to distilled water, agar, gentamicin sulfate, sorbic acid, and ascorbic acid. Larvae were fed the test diets for 10 d and then weighed. Larvae that were fed the diets containing leaf tissue of the resistant plants weighed 52% less than those fed diets containing only susceptible plant tissue. Growth of larvae on diets containing mixtures of leaf tissue from different inbred lines revealed that the variation among diets was accounted for by the average performance of different lines.