Impacts of legume and cereal based artificial diets on development and reproductive parameters of the armyworm Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The development of a viable mass-production technique for the generalist herbivore Spodoptera litura Fabricius (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), using various artificial diets, is crucial for conducting experiments to study its biology and propose control methods. This study aims to investigate the developmental biology of S. litura fed on three distinct diets: two legume-based diets (chickpea flour, Cicer arietinum L. and common bean flour, Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and a cereal-based diet (corn flour, Zea mays L.). Results on various developmental parameters and total life cycle durations indicated that the chickpea and bean-based diets yielded the superior outcomes, with shorter developmental periods (29.74 and 30.73 days, respectively) compared to the corn flour diet (33.10 days). Growth parameters derived from life tables, such as the net reproductive rate (Ro), intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and finite rate of increase (λ), were also higher on chickpea and bean-based diets than the corn flour diet. These results suggest that legumes such as chickpeas and beans, which are rich in vegetable proteins, fibers, carbohydrates and essential minerals, provide a higher-quality nutritional foundation for the growth of S. litura compared to corn-based diet. Furthermore, these diets are suitable for understanding the phenology of S. litura, especially in relation to the nutritional variations of its host plants.