Bottom‐up effects of drought on the growth and development of potato, Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say and Arma chinensis Fallou

Abstract

BACKGROUND Global climate change will result in increasingly arid weather that will have a significant impact on agriculture. The occurrence dynamics of plants, phytophagous insects and their natural enemies under drought conditions have attracted much attention. The consequences could be useful for controlling insect herbivores. Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) is one of the most important pests of potato, and causes serious damage to potato production. Arma chinensis (Fallou) is a parasitoid of L. decemlineata. However, how drought will affect tritrophic interactions between potato and these insects remains unknown. RESULTS In this experiment, L. decemlineata and A. chinensis were released onto potato plants under water stress. Thereafter, plant height, stem diameter and yield of potato, growth and reproduction of L. decemlineata, and the longevity of A. chinensis adults were periodically recorded. The results showed that drought had crucial effects on height, stem diameter and yield of potato (p < 0.05); it also had a significant impact on pre‐oviposition period, oviposition days, fecundity and life table parameters in L. decemlineata (p < 0.05). Moreover, drought significantly reduced the longevity (p < 0.05) and survival rate of A. chinensis adults. The longevity of adult A. chinensis was only 29.00 ± 3.00 days and the harvest rate of L. decemlineata adults was only 1.42% ± 0.07% under drought treatment. CONCLUSION In this experiment, we evaluate the bottom‐up effects of drought on tritrophic interactions involving potato, L. decemlineata and A. chinensis, and discuss the implications of the findings for integrated pest management programs involving the pest. Promising future research directions are proposed. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of water stress on plant volatile emission and insect oviposition preference in an agroecosystem

“…Potentially, this effect could further affect their offspring development and future population size (Duan et al, 2021). Because the effects of precipitation amount on insect oviposition can vary by the feeding guild (Liu et al, 2022), we recommend further investigation on oviposition responses of different insect guilds under water stress. Our finding provides information that is particularly meaningful for insect pest management in agricultural systems.…”

Impact of water stress on the demographic traits and population projection of Colorado potato beetle

“…According to the soil water content to determine the water stress intensity, the test set up a total of four treatments, normal irrigation (CK): the soil water content is more than 80%; light drought (LD): a soil moisture content of 55%–65%; moderate drought (MD): a soil moisture content of 35%–45%; and heavy drought (HD): 15%–25% soil water content. During the test, the soil moisture meter was used to determine the soil moisture content, and the soil water content was controlled by the weighing method, and the control group was irrigated every 4 days and the drought group was irrigated every 2 days, and the experiment was started after plant stress for 21 days ( Jiao et al, 2011 ; Liu et al, 2022 ).…”

“…In addition, water stress also indirectly affected natural enemies. After potato drought treatment, the fecundity and life parameters of Colorado potato beetles were adversely affected, and the life and survival rate of adults of natural enemies of Arma chinensis Fallou were also reduced ( Liu et al, 2022 ).…”

Chromosome-level genome assembly of the predatory stink bug Arma custos

“…It can be easily mass-reared using artificial diet in a factory and exhibits strong adaptability to diverse ecological niches, enabling its successful use as a commercialized biocontrol agent 3 , 5 . Notably, it has shown effective management of notorious invasive pests such as the fall webworm Hyphantria cunea , the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata , and the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda through the augmentative release 6 – 8 . However, limited attention has been given to the investigation of the biological characteristics 9 – 11 , artificial rearing methods 3 , 5 , 12 , chemoecology 13 , response to temperature and drought stresses 8 , 14 – 17 , and developmental regulation by miRNA 18 of this predatory bug.…”

“…Notably, it has shown effective management of notorious invasive pests such as the fall webworm Hyphantria cunea , the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata , and the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda through the augmentative release 6 – 8 . However, limited attention has been given to the investigation of the biological characteristics 9 – 11 , artificial rearing methods 3 , 5 , 12 , chemoecology 13 , response to temperature and drought stresses 8 , 14 – 17 , and developmental regulation by miRNA 18 of this predatory bug. In terms of its genetic information, only the mitochondrial genome and several transcriptomic datasets are available as the current genetic resources 13 , 15 , 16 , 18 , 19 .…”