Journal of Applied Horticulture. 2004: 6(2): 62-64

Techniques to rear eggplant shoot and fruit borer, Leucinodes orbonalis Guenee in the laboratory for host plant resistance studies

Harish Kumar

Proagro Seed Company, Dhumaspur Road, Badshahpur, Gurgaon, India.

An efficient technique for laboratory rearing of the aubergine shoot and fruit borer (SFB) Leucinodes orbonalis is described. The modified oviposition chamber enhanced the overall egg-laying capacity of the adults in terms of fecundity and fertility of the eggs. For larval rearing, round-sized fruits provided a better medium than the long-sized fruits. Approximately 50% of the neonate larvae survived when released on artificial diet. No pupation was observed on the diet even 30 days after infestation. Most larvae were smaller in size compared to those reared on non-artificial diet. Aubergine did not possess resistance to SFB at the preflowering or pre-fruiting stages. However, data showed that to evaluate aubergine germplasm against SFB, the infestation can be as low as 3 or 10 larvae per plant. Aubergine infested with 3 larvae per plant should be kept for approximately 2 weeks and those infested with 10 larvae per plant for approximately 10 days prior to assessing damage by SFB.