Abstract:Experiments were conducted to examine the effect of Barbarea vulgaris on the development and reproduction of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, as well as the effect of experiencing various plants by female adults on their subsequent oviposition preference. A small proportion of diamondback moth larvae could feed and survive to pupation on flowering plants of B.vulgaris. Compared to individuals reared from Chinese cabbage and common cabbage, pupae and adults reared from flowering plants of B.vulgaris were smaller and showed a lower fecundity. However, when adults reared from common cabbage were provided rosette plants of B.vulgaris or common cabbage for oviposition, the average life-time fecundity was 267 and 139 on the two species of plants respectively, indicating that B.vulgaris stimulated the moths to increase their fecundity. When female adults were offered experience of leaves of Chinese cabbage or common cabbage, their preference for these two plants were somewhat increased, but they still deposited most or all of their eggs on B.vulgaris, suggesting that the strong preference for B.vulgaris by the diamondback moth was not substantially altered by prior experience. These results showed that B.vulgaris is a relatively ideal dead-end trap plant for the management of diamondback moth.