Ovipositional and feeding preferences of Helicoverpa armigera towards putative transgenic and non-transgenic pigeonpeas

Helicoverpa armigera is the major constraint for pigeonpea production, and therefore, efforts are being made to develop transgenic pigeonpeas with Bt and SBTI genes to minimize the losses due to this pest. The oviposition behavior of H. armigera on transgenic and non-transgenic plants was studied under no-choice, dual-choice, and multi-choice conditions. No differences were observed in the number of eggs laid on the inflorescences of the transgenic pigeonpeas with cry1Ab or SBTI genes and with the non-transgenic plants. In dual-choice feeding tests, there were no differences in leaf damage, larval weights, and the number of larvae between transgenic and non-transgenic plants. The results suggested that transgenic plants have no influence on the oviposition and feeding preferences of H. armigera