Scirpophaga incertulas W commonly known as Yellow Stem Borer (YSB), is a major insect pest of rice and causes a devastating effect on rice crop productivity. YSB specifically attacks at the young vegetative stage which leads to “dead heart” while the damage at reproductive stage results in “White Ear Head”. Despite of its huge impact on agriculture sector across the globe no much molecular work was initiated due to difficulty in rearing. Hence in the given study, we aimed at developing a cost effective artificial YSB rearing system on natural diet. We designed our experimental model by using different naturally derived food sources (starch, sucrose and honey) as well as synthetic components (combination amylose and amylopectin). The findings of this study demonstrated that the YSB was successfully reared on natural starch, sucrose and synthetic starch under standard growth conditions. Establishment of such rearing method would definitely provide an instant source of different stages of YSB. These readily available stages of YSB can be deployed in studies involving optimization of bioassays, understanding lacunae of developmental studies and also in evaluating the effect of extrinsic factors. The outcome of this study will definitely leave a huge impact on developing an efficient pest management strategy against YSB.

Keywords : Artificial Diet, Pest Management, Rearing, Rice, S. Incertulas, Starch, Yellow Stem Borer.