The behavior of the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is known to be affected by plant volatile cues, but its attraction or repellent to specific volatile cues has not been deeply studied yet. Therefore, the aim of our study was to identify the most attractive plant among cultivars of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and eggplant (Solanum melongena) to evaluate the volatiles of plants to identify the chemical compound(s) that attract T. vaporariorum. We speculated that whitefly–host plant interaction primarily depends on plant volatile emissions and that once the plant is damaged, it might attract more whiteflies. Three intact (uninfested) tomato, four intact eggplant cultivars and whitefly infested plants of the most whitefly attractive tomato and eggplant cultivars were examined by behavioral assay experiments for attractiveness to T. vaporariorum and headspace volatile were determined by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Whiteflies had the highest preference for the intact eggplant Kuai Yuan Qie (KYQ) among the eggplant and the tomato plant cultivars in bioassay experiments. Although both male and female whiteflies were significantly more attracted to infested KYQ plants than to intact plants, whitefly females did not select conspecific-infested YG plants. The volatile emissions among different plant cultivars in individual species and infested versus intact plants were significantly different. Among these volatiles, identified major green leaf volatiles [(Z)-3-hexen-1-ol] and terpenoids [α-pinene, (E)-β-caryophyllene, α-humulene, azulene] showed a constitutive relationship with the most whitefly preference plants. Our findings provide new insights into the chemical compounds that attract or repel whiteflies.
The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is an important pest of many crops in the world and a vector of more than 100 plant viruses. It is a major pest of Brassica vegetables such as Chinese cabbage in northern China. Chemical control is extensively used to manage this aphid around the world; however, development of insecticide resistance has been a major obstacle facing growers. Host plant resistance in Chinese cabbage against M. persicae has not been reported yet. In this study, we investigated the resistance categories in seven Chinese cabbage cultivars against M. persicae. The resistance categories of these cultivars included antixenosis, antibiosis, and tolerance related to leaf color and wax content. The cultivar 'Yuanbao' had antibiotic and tolerance effects on the aphid. The rate of intrinsic increase (rm) of M. persicae was lower on Yuanbao compared with the other six cultivars. Yuanbao also had the highest antibiosis against the aphid. The aphid preferred 'Qingan 80', which had the highest wavelength (green) in leaf color. The highest wax content was found in Yuanbao, which had a significantly negative correlation with the preference of M. persicae. The cabbage cultivar Yuanbao was resistant to M. persicae and could be used in the development of integrated pest management (IPM) programs against the aphid in the field.
Plants emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in response to herbivore attack. VOCs emitted from the Chinese cabbage cultivars in response to the damage by the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, were unknown. Using a solid-phase microextraction-based headspace collection method, we investigated and compared the emissions of VOCs from seven Chinese cabbage cultivars (Qibao, Qingan 80, Lvlong, Yuanbao, Qingan 70, Jinlv, and Lvqiu 66) in response to M. persicae attack. Our results showed that the VOCs emitted from the cultivars Qingan 80 and Yuanbao differed significantly from the other cultivars in response to the attraction of wingless M. persicae. Most importantly, out of the 27 detected compounds, α-caryophyllene was detected only in Qingan 80 and Qibao, but not in the other five cultivars. Among the compounds detected, 2 monoterpene and 12 terpenes were predominant in all cabbage cultivars. Furthermore, the wingless M. persicae showed preference to Qingan 80 while it had the highest nitrogen content among the tested cultivars. Moreover, we found a remarkable relationship among M. persicae attraction, plant nitrogen content, and total volatile emissions. Nitrogen content of the plants has a significant impact on volatile emission and preference behavior of M. persicae. Our results indicate that the wingless M. persicae were efficient in their interspecific host selection with an ability to distinguish plant cultivar differences by leaf nitrogen content. This study will be helpful in understanding aphid host selection, and sets a stage to further study the attractant-based integrated aphid management programs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.