Different Tea Germplasms Distinctly Influence the Adaptability of Toxoptera aurantii (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Abstract

Aphids are typical phloem-sucking insect pests. A good understanding regarding their feeding behavior and population dynamics are critical for evaluating host adaptation and screening of aphid-resistant resources. Herein, the adaptability of Toxoptera aurantii (Boyer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to different hosts was evaluated via electropenetrography and an age-stage, two-sex life table on six tea germplasms: Zikui (ZK), Zhongcha108 (ZC108), Zhongcha111 (ZC111), Qianmei419 (QM419), Meitan5 (MT5), and Fudingdabaicha (FD). Our findings revealed that the feeding activities of T. aurantii differed considerably among the host plants. T. aurantii exhibited significantly more pathway activities on ZK and FD than on the other hosts. However, the duration of feeding of T. aurantii on ZK phloem considerably decreased compared with those of the other germplasms. Life parameters indicated that T. aurantii exhibited the highest intrinsic rate of increase (r), net reproductive rate (R0), and finite rate of increase (λ) on MT5, and the maximum values of total longevity and oviposition period were recorded on FD; these variables were reduced significantly on ZK. The results of our study demonstrate that T. aurantii can successfully survive on the six tea germplasms; however, ZK was less suitable for T. aurantii and should be considered as a potential source of resistance in breeding and Integrated Pest Management.

Field application of tea volatiles mediating host selection of Aleurocanthus spiniferus

“…'Huangjinya' is a novel chlorophyll-de cient albino cultivar that is susceptible to common pests of tea plants (e.g., E. onukii and Toxoptera aurantii) (Tian et al 2018;He et al 2023). 'Fuding white tea' is more suitable for herbivorous insects (e.g., Dendrothrips minowai, T. aurantii, and E. onukii) due to its high free amino acid content (Lu et al 2023). Although the nutritional level of plants often affects their suitability and resistance to herbivorous insects, insects search for and locate distant host plants using their sense of smell and vision in the early stages of pest infestation (Bruce et al 2005(Bruce et al , 2011.…”

“…In tea plantations, there are observable differences in the occurrence of A. spiniferus on four tea cultivars. 'Huangjinya' and 'Fuding white tea' are more susceptible and suitable for A. spiniferus (Tian et al 2018;Lu et al 2023;He et al 2023), while 'Baiye No. 1' and 'Longjing 43' are common resistant cultivars (Liang et al 2012).…”

Adaptability of Toxoptera aurantii (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to Different Tea Cultivars

“…A comparison of the EPG and population parameters indicated that QC1 and QC10 exhibited strong resistance to T. aurantii, whereas HJY was susceptible to attack by T. aurantii. There have been previous reports on the resistance of different tea germplasms to T. aurantii; however, the germplasm materials used by different researchers exhibit marked variation [17,44].…”