Influence of foliar glucosinolates in oilseed rape and mustard on feeding and growth of the bertha armyworm,Mamestra configurata Walker.

The relationship between host plant glucosinolate profile and feeding and growth of the Bertha armyworm,Mamestra configurata Walker was investigated using eight cultivated rape and mustard varieties. Mean larval weights of neonates reared on intact rosette-stage plants were significantly different on the different species in the orderBrassica juncea <Sinapis alba <B. napus <B. campestris. WhileB. juncea was least preferred,S. alba was significantly more attractive to neonate larvae in choice tests. Relative consumption and growth rates of fourth-instar larvae were also reduced onB. juncea foliage. Other differences were dependent on the plant growth stage. Neonate preference was not correlated to total glucosinolate levels, but rather to the concentrations of isothiocyanate-releasing glucosinolates. However, the relationship between consumption and glucosinolate levels was inconsistent. Relative growth rate was negatively correlated to total glucosinolate content for stage 3 and 4 foliage-mainly due to the concentration of isothiocyanatereleasing glucosinolates. The relative importance of isothiocyanate-releasing glucosinolates was verified by rearing neonates on meridic diets containing equimolar concentrations of sinigrin, its metabolite, allyl isothiocyanate, and indole-3-carbinol, metabolite of 3-indolylmethyl glucosinolate. Sinigrin and allyl isothiocyanate in the diet produced virtually identical negative weight vs. concentration regression lines. No such dose-response effect was observed with indole-3-carbinol. The data suggest that foliar isothiocyanate-releasing glucosinolates may provide some degree of plant protection from polyphagous insects.