Influence of white cabbage cultivars on oviposition preference of the Pieris rapae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)
Department of Plant Protection, Institute Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, EstonianUniversity of Life Sciences; Kreutzwaldi 1, Tartu, 51014, Estonia;e-mail: katrin.jogar@emu.ee
Abstract:
The aim of the present study was to determine the oviposition preference of Small White (Pieris rapae L.) on five different white cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba) cultivars. The experiment showed that in first year butterflies preferred late-matured cultivar ′Krautkaizer′ as the site for oviposition; 35.8% of eggs counted during the observation period were gathered from this plant. The next choice was mid-season cultivar ′Lennox′ by 21.6%. In second year the preferred cultivars were late-matured ′Turquoise′ (26%), ′Lennox′ (22.1%) and ′Krautkaizer′ (20%). The egg laying activity was high during whole test period in both years of those variants.
Key words:
butterfly, food plant, oviposition preference, Pieris rapae, white cabbage cultivars