What is it about?
Artificial diets formulated for the first time for rearing showed better efficacy in supporting the growth and development through generations of the geometrid pest species than on their natural host, tea foliage. The utility, safety and economy of artificial diet-based rearing in modern research of pest management have been highlighted.
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Why is it important?
Three of the geometrid species Biston (=Buzura) suppressaria, Hyposidra talaca and H. infixaria are notorious defoliating pests of the Terai-Dooars tea plantations of North-East India. Control of these defoliators by conventional pesticide spray is mostly ineffective. To manage this pest menace in the tea plantations, alternative technologies need to be developed. Artificial diets formulated for rearing these lepidopteran pests will provide the platform for contemplating new approaches of pest management. The present work provides a practical approach of formulation of artificial (meridic) diet free from tea leaf. The diets have been designed and tested for optimizing the performance of the pest species. Efficacy of the diets have been estimated and compared with natural tea leaf when used as food. All the artificial diets recommended for rearing showed better efficacy in supporting the growth and development through generations of the geometrid pest species than on their natural host, tea. The utility, safety and economy of artificial diet-based rearing in modern research of pest management have been highlighted.
Perspectives
First time chemically defined artificial diet has been designed for rearing the looper pests for generations. Three such major defoliating pests (Geometridae) of tea,need to be managed by newer chemicals or some biopesticide. Testing of these control agents and experimentation with them become easy on disease free populations of the pests produced by indoor rearing on artificial diets.
ANANDA MUKHOPADHYAY
University of North Bengal
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Artificial Diet Designing: Its Utility in Management of Defoliating Tea Pests (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), January 2020, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-0794-6_9.
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