Growth performance and feeding behaviour of Rhopalosiphum padi on rice

M.B.A. Ghaffar, A.R. Milan, J. Pritchard and B.V. Ford-Lloyd

Abstract

The growth performance and feeding behaviour of bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) on several varieties of rice plant were evaluated. The reproductive duration, fecundity and longevity were measured. Feeding behaviour was investigated using the DC electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique. Results revealed that bird cherry-oat aphids do not prefer rice as a primary host. This EPG study confirmed that aphids are only able to ingest phloem sap (E2) even on a young plant for only 19.9% (1.19 h) of the total 6 h feeding period. This duration reduced sharply to only 1.5% (0.09 h) on mature plants. Therefore, this process affects their fecundity and longevity. It was found that they can only survive for 13 days on average. During that time, only 3.4 nymphs were produced. Statistical analysis showed that there were no significant differences of feeding behaviour of the aphids on different varieties of rice.

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