The bird cherry-oat aphid
Rhopalosiphum padi
L. (Homoptera: Aphididae) is one of the main pests in a number of crops in
the semiarid Pampas of Argentina. In the present study, the effect of different host plants, including
Triticum aestivum
L.,
Χ
Triticosecale Wittm.,
Hordeum vulgare
L.,
Hordeum distichum
L.,
Avena sativa
L., and
Secale cereale
L. on biological
parameters of
R. padi L. was studied in the laboratory at 24 ± 1 °C, 65 ± 10% RH and a 14:10 photoperiod. Longevity,
intrinsic rate of natural increase (r
m), net reproductive rate (R
0), mean generation time (T), doubling time (DT), and finite
rate of increase (λ) of the bird cherry-oat aphid on the different cereal crops were estimated. Differences in fertility life
table parameters of
R. padi among host plants were analyzed using pseudo-values, which were produced by Jackknife
re-sampling. Results indicated that beer barley might be the most suitable food for
R. padi due to greater adult longevity
(20.88 d), higher fecundity (41 nymphs female
-1), higher intrinsic rate of natural increase (0.309 females female
-1 d
-1), lower
doubling time (2.24), and lower nymphal mortality (22.2%). Therefore, it can be concluded from the present study that
R.
padi prefers beer barley for fast and healthy development over other cereal crops.
