Can artificial nectaries outcompete aphids in ant-aphid mutualism? Applying artificial sugar sources for ants to support better biological control of rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea Passerini in apple orchards

Nagy, Csaba; Cross, J. V.; Markó, Viktor

doi:10.1016/j.cropro.2015.07.015

Cited by 23 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 36 publications

(63 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Both the ANs and nectar solution used during the experiment were very basic, and may be improved in the future, perhaps by further drawing inspiration from natural systems such as more elaborate nectar solutions with specific carbohydrates/nitrogen ratios or proteins, which could possibly enhance ant predatory attitude (e.g., [20,26,130,131]). Moreover, in comparison with a recent experiment of inoculation biological control employing ants in an apple orchard [48,71], we obtained somewhat similar beneficial results by using the native ant-fauna, while we did not witness sap feeders outbreaks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ant-exclusion consisted of the placement of sticky barriers at the base of the trunk in order to prevent soil-nesting ant access to the tree. Sticky barriers are a common system used for ant exclusion in field experiments [20,101,102]. Given the almost complete absence of arboreal-nesting species in the orchard, sticky barriers were expected to be effective in eliminating ants from targeted trees.…”

Section: Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some plants produce nectars, other food rewards or offer shelter to ants in exchange for protection against herbivory, competing plants or even pathogens [13][14][15][16][17]. These rewards may also be aimed at distracting ants from tending sap feeders [18][19][20][21]. Several cases of these ant-plant mutualisms are mediated by extrafloral nectaries (EFNs), which have been described for 4017 plant species of over 450 evolutionary lineages (21% of vascular plant families), and are expected to be found in about 8000 species [22,23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Inspired by EFNs, ANs are manipulative tools designed to increase ant activity on trees by dispensing a liquid made of water and sugar to attract ants. Although a few studies have already tested the use of ANs or other food sources to attain agroecological benefits (e.g., [20,21,[97][98][99][100]), none of them have studied ant effectiveness in defending plants, focusing instead on distracting ants from mutualistic sap feeders. Thus, the aim of our study was to evaluate both the functionality of ANs and the impact of different levels of ant activity on arboreal arthropodofauna, plant health and fruit production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

New Tools for Conservation Biological Control: Testing Ant-Attracting Artificial Nectaries to Employ Ants as Plant Defenders

Schifani

Castracani

Giannetti

et al. 2020

Insects

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Knowledge of the role of ants in many agroecosystems is relatively scarce, and in temperate regions the possibility to exploit ants as biocontrol agents for crop protection is still largely unexplored. Drawing inspiration from mutualistic ant-plant relationships mediated by extrafloral nectaries (EFNs), we tested the use of artificial nectaries (ANs) in order to increase ant activity on pear trees and to evaluate the effects on the arthropods, plant health and fruit production. While EFNs secrete a complex solution mainly composed of sugars and amino acids, ANs were filled with water and sucrose only. The results suggest that ANs can be used as manipulative instruments to increase ant activity over long periods of time. High ant activity was significantly linked to lower incidence of the pathogen fungus Venturia pyrina (pear scab) on pear leaves, and of the presence of Cydia pomonella (codling moth) caterpillars on pear fruit production. These results further encourage exploring underrated possibilities in the development of new tools for conservation biological control (CBC).

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

New Tools for Conservation Biological Control: Testing Ant-Attracting Artificial Nectaries to Employ Ants as Plant Defenders

Schifani

Castracani

Giannetti

et al. 2020

Insects

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An alternative method consists in providing alternative carbohydrate sources to the ants, by the positioning of feeders with a sucrose solution on the trunk base. The set-up of such feeders in apple orchards proved to be as efficient as the traditional ant-exclusion technique for D. plantaginea control (Nagy et al 2015).…”

Section: Top-downmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing the aphid life cycle to reduce insecticide reliance in apple and peach orchards. A review

Rousselin

Bevacqua

Sauge

et al. 2017

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Apple and peach orchards are chemicalintensive systems, and aphids are one of their major pests. Aphids alter fruiting and shoot development, and they can spread viruses. Decades of insecticide use have developed aphid resistance, which calls on research to provide alternatives to chemicals for pest management. Here, we review the literature to identify, for each stage of the aphid life cycle, existing alternatives based on either top-down (i.e. aphid predation or parasitism) or bottom up (i.e. increase of host plant resistance) processes. Firstly, it was found that most studies focus on topdown processes, namely on conservation biological control aiming to preserve existing populations of natural enemies: predators, parasitoids and nematodes. This is achieved by (i) providing shelters (i.e. planting hedges, weed or flower strips) or alternative preys in periods of aphid scarcity or (ii) choosing chemicals with the lowest disruptive effects. Those methods prove more efficient when used early in the season, i.e. before the exponential increase of aphid populations. Fostering the complex of natural enemies is also preferable than just supporting one single enemy. Secondly, other techniques, like (i) releasing biological control agents (entomopathogenic fungi, nematodes) or (ii) using pheromone lures to prevent autumnal sexual reproduction, are currently adapted for their use in orchard conditions. Thirdly, bottom-up regulation has to be devised as a long-term strategy, which could start by choosing a cultivar enabling genetic avoidance or developing genetic resistance. Then, aphid development can be reduced by the control of shoot growth or nitrogen accumulation in response to pruning or moderate water and nutrient inputs. At last, autumnal return of aphids could be disrupted by techniques such as kaolin applications that impair aphid host plant location. It is concluded that these alternative methods have to be adapted to local conditions and combined in long-term strategies in order to decrease the infestation risks throughout the orchard lifespan.

show abstract

Implementing wood ants in biocontrol: Suppression of apple scab and reduced aphid tending

Jensen

Hansen

Damgaard

et al. 2023

Pest Management Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUND Ants can become efficient biocontrol agents in plantation crops as they prey on pest insects and may inhibit plant pathogens by excreting broad‐spectrum antibiotics. However, ants also provide a disservice by augmenting attended honeydew producing homopterans. This disservice may be avoided by offering ants artificial sugar as an alternative to honeydew. Here we tested the effect of artificial sugar feeding on aphid abundance in an apple plot with wood ants (Formica polyctena, Förster), and tested the effect of ant presence on apple scab (Venturia inaequalis, Cooke) disease incidence. RESULTS Over a 2‐year period, sugar feeding eliminated ant‐attended aphid populations on the apple trees. Furthermore, scab symptoms on both leaves and apples were reduced considerably on ant trees compared to control trees without ants. The presence of ants on the trees reduced leaf scab infections by 34%, whereas spot numbers on fruits were reduced by between 53 and 81%, depending on apple variety. In addition, the spots were 56% smaller. CONCLUSION This shows that problems with wood ant‐attended homopterans can be solved and that ants can control both insect pests and plant pathogens. We therefore propose wood ants as a new effective biocontrol agent suitable for implementation in apple orchards and possibly other plantation crops. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

show abstract

Can artificial nectaries outcompete aphids in ant-aphid mutualism? Applying artificial sugar sources for ants to support better biological control of rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea Passerini in apple orchards

Cited by 23 publications

References 36 publications

New Tools for Conservation Biological Control: Testing Ant-Attracting Artificial Nectaries to Employ Ants as Plant Defenders

New Tools for Conservation Biological Control: Testing Ant-Attracting Artificial Nectaries to Employ Ants as Plant Defenders

Harnessing the aphid life cycle to reduce insecticide reliance in apple and peach orchards. A review

Implementing wood ants in biocontrol: Suppression of apple scab and reduced aphid tending

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About