COMPATIBILITY OF NUCLEAR POLYHEDROSIS VIRUSES AND INHERITED STERILITYFOR CONTROL OF CORN-EARWORM AND FALL ARMYWORM (LEPIDOPTERA, NOCTUIDAE)

Inherited sterility has been proposed as a means of suppressing the po pulations of the corn earworm, Helicoverpa tea (Boddie), and the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith). If nuclear polyhedrosis viruses could be used to kill larvae, thereby reducing the number of moths in the field populations, fewer moths treated with substerilizin g doses of irradiation would need to be released. However, for these t wo methods to be compatible, the progeny of substerile moths should be no more susceptible to the virus than the progeny of the field popula tions. The corn earworm nuclear polyhedrosis virus (Elcar(TM)) was bio assayed against corn earworm larvae from untreated moths and larvae fr om male, female, and male and female moths treated with 100 Gy of irra diation and larvae from male moths treated with 150 Gy of irradiation. The fall armyworm nuclear polyhedrosis virus was bioassayed against f all armyworm larvae from untreated moths and larvae from male moths tr eated with 100 to 150 Gy of irradiation. There was no significant diff erence between susceptibility of larvae from untreated moths and larva e from irradiated moths. Thus, the use of nuclear polyhedrosis viruses for control of larvae should be compatible with the release of subste rilized moths as part of an integrated pest management approach For ar ea-wide management of the corn earworm and fall armyworm.