Fall Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Consumption and Utilization of Nine Bermudagrasses

Abstract

Nine bermudagrass varieties and strains were evaluated to determine their effects on consumption, utilization, preference, and host suitability of the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith). The established varieties, ‘Coastal,’ ‘Tifton 44,’ ‘Tifton 78,’ and ‘Tifton 292,’ a newly released variety, ‘Grazer,’ and the experimental strains, #1 R12P5, OSU 71 × 6-7, OSU 74 × 11-2, and OSU 74 × 12-1 were included in this study. ‘Tifton 292’ was the grass most preferred by neonate larvae, and OSU 74 × 11-2 was the least preferred. A host suitability index indicated that ‘Tifton 78’ was the most suitable host for FAW development, and OSU 71 × 6-7 was the least suitable. The nine bermudagrass varieties and strains were categorized as susceptible (‘Tifton 78,’ OSU 74 × 12-1, and ‘Grazer’), intermediately resistant (#1 R12P5, ‘Coastal,’ ‘Tifton 292,’ OSU7 4 × 11-2, and ‘Tifton 44’), and resistant (OSU 71 × 6-7). The mechanism of resistance to FAW feeding is believed to be antibiosis rather than nonpreference.