STUDY OF DIFFERENT HOST PLANTS SUITABLE FOR THE GROWTH OF LEUCINODES ORBONALIS
Different host plants (Solanum melongena, Lycopersicon esculentum , Abelmoschus esculentus , Solanum tuberosum , Solanum nigrum , Cyndon indicum , Ocimum basilicum and Solanum indicum ) affect the weight of larva on 5th , 10th and 15th day of development differently . On these plants the larval weight on 5th day varies from 2.2 to 2.8 mg. . The tested plants affect the growth of larva on 10th day also . Solanum melongena reared larva was the heaviest ( 4.8 mg. ) and the reared on Ocimum basilicum was the lightest (3.6 mg. ) the larval weight on 15th day is also affected differently by different host plants . Solanum melongena produce the heaviest larva ( 9.8 mg. ) and Ocimum basilicum both produced the lightest larva (7.4 mg.) However , the increase in larval weight with respect to the remaining plants was slightly less . The increase in the larval weight is possibly due to relative more feeding and more utilization of the ingested food and the differences in weight of larvae are mostly due to varying nutritive value of the tested plants.