Tractor-mounted rotary dispenser for artificially infesting whorl-stage corn with larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
1991
A rotating dispenser system for artificially infesting whorl-stage corn (Zea mays L.) with larvae of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), was designed, developed, and evaluated. The system uniformly dispenses larvae up to a density averaging 76 larvae per g of corncob grits, while rotating at 75 rpm. The mortality of larvae tumbled in the hopper with grits was higher than the mortality of those not tumbled, but mortality did not differ significantly among larvae tumbled for 3, 10, or 20 min. Following application, the mean number of larvae recovered per plant, the mean percentage of plants infested, the mean percentage of plants infested with multiple larvae, and the mean percentage of damaged plants increased progressively and significantly as the density of dispensed fall armyworm larvae was increased from 1 to 16 per plant. The application system probably can be used to convey the larvae of numerous lepidopterous species on a variety of row crops and also may be adaptable for use in the augmentation of biological control agents.
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