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Use of a Moth Production Index to Assess the Impact of Sorghum Varieties in Management of Chilo partellus in Aouthern Africa

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Abstract

Two field experiments were conducted over two seasons to assess the effect of resistance levels of sorghum varieties on follow-up generations of Chilo partellus. Sorghum varieties, released by the Southern African Development Community/International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (SADC/ICRISAT) through the Sorghum and Millet Improvement Program (SMIP) in the southern African region, were evaluated for their ability to provide for larvae to complete development in stalks and emerge as moths. Plants were naturally infested by C. partellus. The number of moth exit holes per stem was used to calculate survival of larvae to the adult stage. A moth production index was calculated to estimate the role of each sorghum variety in area-wide suppression of stemborer abundance. Between 97,500 and 213,125 moths per hectare emerged from the different sorghum varieties in trial 1 while between 0 and 77,500 emerged per hectare in trail 2. Resistant sorghum varieties may help suppress pest population build-up and be of considerable value in development of IPM systems for resource-poor farmers.

Résumé

Deux expériences de terrain ont été menées sur deux saisons pour évaluer l’effet des niveaux de resistance des variétés de sorgho sur les générations subséquentes de Chilo partellus. Des variétés de sorgho, mises sur le marché par la Communauté Sud Africaine de Développement/ l’Institut International de Recherche sur les Cultures pour les Tropiques Semi-Arides (SADC/ ICRISAT) à travers le Programme d’Amélioration du Sorgho et du Millet (SMIP) dans la région de l’Afrique australe furent évaluées pour leur capacité d’assurer le dévelopement complet des larves dans les tiges et l’éclosion des phalènes adultes. Les plantes étaient naturellement infestées par C. partellus. Le nombre des trous de sortie des phalènes par tige était utilisé pour calculer le taux de survie des larves jusqu’au stade adulte. Un indice de production des phalènes fut calculé pour estimer le rôle de chaque variété de sorgho dans la réduction de l’abondance des foreurs de tiges à grande échelle. Entre 97.500 et 213.125 phalènes par hectare émergèrent des différentes variétés de sorgho dans l’essai 1 tandis qu’entre 0 et 77.700 par hectare émergèrent dans l’essai 2. Les variétés résistantes de sorgho peuvent aider à contrer l’amorce de la population de ravageurs et être d’une valeur considérable dans le développement des systèmes de contrôle intégré des ravageurs pour les paysans à resources insuffisantes.

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  1. ARC-Grain Crops Institute, Private Bag X 1251, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa

    J. van den Berg

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van den Berg, J. Use of a Moth Production Index to Assess the Impact of Sorghum Varieties in Management of Chilo partellus in Aouthern Africa. Int J Trop Insect Sci 17, 151–155 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1017/S174275840002227X

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