Journal of Pest Science (2010) 83, 289-296

A.C. Chatzigeorgiou, N.T. Papadopoulos and D.A. Prophetou-Athanasiadou (2010)
Effect of cotton cultivars on the oviposition preference of pink bollworm (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)
Journal of Pest Science 83 (3), 289-296
Abstract: The effect of four cotton cultivars on the oviposition behavior of the pink bollworm Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) was studied under laboratory and semi-field conditions. Young plants and bolls from four commercial upland cotton cultivars (Lachata, Macnair-220, Midas and Sandra) cultivated in the area of Thessaloniki were used. The four cultivars had palmate leaves, and nectaries on both leaves and bolls. Differences were observed in the trichome density and the length of leaf petiole among the cultivars. The typical shape of bolls was either round or ovate. Differences were observed among the cultivars tested in boll size and bract's length. In a series of experiments we recorded the number of eggs oviposited in no-, two-, three-, and four-choice tests using either young plants or bolls. Although the four cotton cultivars exhibited a variation in morphological characteristics, the mean number of eggs oviposited on young plants and bolls did not differ among them in two-, three-, and four-choice experiments. Substantially higher number of eggs were oviposited on either young plants or bolls of Midas in no-choice experiments. Eggs were oviposited mainly on newly developed unfolded leaves of the young plants and under the calyx of the bolls. In a semi-field experiment, we found a clear oviposition preference for bolls compared with plant terminals in all the cultivars tested. Females oviposited similar number of eggs in the four cultivars. We discuss the effect of morphological characteristics of cotton cultivars on the oviposition behavior of pink bollworm.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Nikos T. Papadopoulos

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
resistance/tolerance/defence of host
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Pectinophora gossypiella	Cotton (Gossypium)	Greece