S. Krisna Kumar <br/><br/>
Deciphering the chemical cues underlying the oviposition behaviour of spotted bollworm, Earias vittella Fabricius in Okra 

 - P 185-194 
<br/><br/> Insect pests that attack plants generally exhibit a<br/>strong preference for specific phenological stages of<br/>their host plants for feeding and oviposition. In this<br/>study, we examined the influence of different phenological stages volatiles of okra (Ablemoschus esculentus),<br/>namely pre-flowering, flowering and fruiting, on the<br/>behaviour of the notorious pest, spotted bollworm<br/>(Earias vittella Fabricius). To understand the olfactory<br/>response of E. vittella, we utilized a Y-tube olfactometer, gas chromatography electroantennographic detection<br/>(GC-EAD) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy<br/>(GC-MS) techniques. Among the three host plant phenological stages, the volatile cues from the fruiting<br/>stage were significantly attractive to E. vittella. The<br/>specific chemical cues responsible for this attraction<br/>were identified using GC-EAD/GC-MS. The electrophysiological studies revealed a total of 14 chemical<br/>cues that elicited a clear antennal response in the gravid<br/>female moths of E. vittella. Further, detailed olfactometer<br/>bioassays with synthetic compounds revealed that four<br/>compounds elicited a significant attraction in gravid<br/>female moths and one elicited significant repulsion response. The study provides valuable insights into the<br/>host plant preference of E. vittella and identifies the<br/>underlying potent attractive chemicals for its future<br/>management strategies. 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Facted Index Terms: </label><br/>Ablemoschus esculentus<br/>fruit and shoot borer<br/>GC-EAD/GC-MS<br/>olfactometer assays<br/>phenological stages<br/>volatiles