The ovipositional responses of the stem-borer, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe), to the maize cultivar Inbred A are greater than the maize cultivar, Nyamula. These responses are elicited by certain characters of the plants that are perceivable prior to the moth's arrival on the plants (distance-perceivable) as well as those perceivable after arrival on the plants (contact-perceivable). Distance-perceivable characters were not found to be responsible for the difference in the oviposition on the two cultivars tested.
The contact-perceivable characters of the maize cultivars differ in eliciting oviposition by moths. Contact with the cultivar Nyamula elicits much less oviposition than with the other cultivar tested.
