Effects of fluoride on growth and reproduction of the army worm, Mythimna separata (Walker)

This paper deals with effects of airborne fluorine on the army worm, Mythimna separata (Walker), by rearing the larvae on the wheat foliage exposed to HF or fumigating the larvae on the artificial diet with the pollutant. Larval relative growth rate (GR) and index of population trend of the insect reduced by 5% and 11%, respectively, when the larvae were reared on the foliage taken from the wheat plants exposed to 0.87 g·dm-2·day-1 of fluorine compared with those of the control. An extra instar appeared in a majority of the larvae treated. Survival rate and GR of the larvae on the wheat plant being exposure to the same concentration of fluorine in field open-top fumigation device were 40% and 15% lower than that of the control, respectively. Similar experiment with the insect on the artificial diet also showed that direct impact of the pollutant on the army worm was greater than its indirect effect via their host plant.