The southwestern corn borer (Diatraea grandiosella Dyar) is a serious pest of corn (Zea mays L.) in the southern USA. It completes two to three generations per year depending upon latitude. The first generation attacks whorl stage corn. Corn germplasm lines with leaf-feeding resistance to this pest and other lepidopterans have been released to the public. An initial objective of the present study is to provide baseline biological data for southwestern corn borers grown on two leaf-feeding resistant hybrids and one susceptible hybrid. Plants were infested with neonate larvae after reaching the V8-V9 leaf stage. Data on survival, growth and development of the borers on these hybrids were taken at specified time intervals throughout the entire generation period by destructive sampling of plants. Extent of leaf feeding damage and stalk tunneling were also taken for each hybrid. A second objective involved examining and comparing digestive systems of 3rd and 5th instar larvae collected from the three hybrids using a Scanning Electron Microscope.
Species 1: Lepidoptera Crambidae Diatraea grandiosella (southwestern corn borer)
Keywords: host plant resistance
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