فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

The maize caterpillar, Leucania loreyi (Duponchel) is one of the economical and important pests of maize that the host plant resistance can have a significant role in controlling of its population. In this study, the nutritional and growth indices of total larval instars (third to fifth instar) of this pest were evaluated on 10 different maize hybrids (BK65, BK66, BC678, SC704, SC705, SC706, SC201, SC260, SC400, and SC410). The leaves of field-grown maize hybrids were used for feeding of the third to fifth instar larvae. Based on the obtained results, the value of approximate digestibility (AD) was higher on SC400, SC706, and SC705 hybrids, and lower on BC678 and SC704 hybrids. The efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) was the lowest on SC706 hybrid and higher on SC705, BC678, and SC704 hybrids. The efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) varied from 23.93 to 61/60% on various treatments, which its lowest and highest amounts were observed on SC706 and BC678 hybrids, respectively. The highest and lowest metabolic cost (MC) were obtained on SC706 and BC678 hybrids, respectively. The lowest weights of larvae and pupae were recorded on SC706 hybrid. The weights of larvae on SC705, BC678, and SC704 hybrids and those of pupae on BC678 hybrid were higher. The relative growth rate (RGR) of larvae was lower on SC706, SC410, and SC260 hybrids and highest on BC678 hybrid. The lowest amounts of fitness index (FI) and standardized insect-growth index (SII) were on SC706 and SC704 hybrids, respectively, and that of index of plant quality (IPQ) was on SC704 hybrid. The result of cluster analysis of the studied maize hybrid indicated that the SC706, SC410, and SC260 hybrids were unsuitable hybrids for L. loreyi and thus, can be used in management programs of maize caterpillar, aiming at reducing pest damage.