Open AccessPerformance of Trichogramma japonicum under field conditions as a function of the factitious host species used for mass rearing
Author(s) -
G. Basana Gowda,
G. Guru Pirasanna Pandi,
Farman Ullah,
Naveenkumar Patil,
Madhusmita Sahu,
Totan Adak,
Somnath S. Pokhare,
Manoj Kumar Yadav,
Muthukkaruppan Annamalai,
Priyanka Mittapelly,
Nicolas Desneux,
Prakash Chandra Rath
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0256246
Subject(s) - biology , sitotroga cerealella , host (biology) , trichogramma , parasitoid , parasitism , botany , horticulture , gelechiidae , lepidoptera genitalia , ecology
Different factitious hosts were used to mass rear Trichogramma japonicum Ashmead in different parts of the globe because thorough details were lacking in both the laboratory and the field. The objective of this study was to compare, parasitoid, T . japonicum reared in different factitious hosts. Three commonly used factitious host eggs, Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton), Ephestia kuehniella Zeller and Sitotroga cerealella Olivier were tested under laboratory conditions and then in the field over a yellow stem borer, Scirpophaga incertulus (Walker) of rice. The highest parasitism by T . japonicum was observed on E . kuehniella eggs. The parasitoid’s highest emergence (88.99%) was observed on S . cerealella eggs at 24 h exposure, whereas at 48 h it was on E . kuehniella eggs (94.66%). Trichogramma japonicum females that emerged from E . kuehniella eggs were significantly long-lived. The days of oviposition by hosts and the host species were significant individually, but not their interaction. Higher proportions of flying T . japonicum were observed when reared on E . kuehniella and C . cephalonica eggs. Field results showed that T . japonicum mass-reared on E . kuehniella showed higher parasitism of its natural host, S . incertulus eggs. Hence, by considering these biological characteristics and field results, E . kuehniella could be leveraged for the mass rearing of quality parasitoids of T . japonicum in India, the Asian continent and beyond.