Preference of Quinoa Moth: Eurysacca Melanocampta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) for Two Varieties of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) in Olfactometry Assays

Abstract

Insects are attracted to plants by visual and olfactory cues. The quinoa moth, Eurysacca melanocampta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is the main insect pest of the quinoa crop, Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (Chenopodiales: Chenopodiaceae), in the southern Peruvian Andes, causing grain yield losses. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavioural response of adult quinoa moths to olfactory stimuli. Specifically, the objectives of this study were: 1) to determine the capacity of E. melanocampta adults of searching for quinoa plants using plant olfactory cues; 2) to determine the preference of E. melanocampta females for the odours derived from two varieties of quinoa: Amarilla de Marangani and Blanca de Junín; and 3) to assess the attraction of male quinoa moths to E. melanocampta females and the host plant in olfactometric bioassays. Adults preferred quinoa plant odour sources in choice tests when distilled water was used as a control (P < 0.0001). Females were more attracted to the Blanca de Junín variety than to Amarilla de Marangani variety (P < 0.05). Males were more attracted to the odour derived from females than to the volatile compounds from plants (both varieties) or to the odour blend derived from plants plus females together. The level of attraction of males towards females is negatively affected by the presence of the quinoa plants.

Volatile-organic compound changes in rose twigs consequent to infection with rose powdery mildew

“…We therefore needed to investigate the constituents of mildew-induced VOCs. In general, a female moth ready to oviposit on a plant can easily find and recognize a suitable (healthy rather than fungus-infected) host plant from the VOCs released by the host plant if the VOC concentrations in the host plant and in the circumstance are high (Costa et al, 2009;Hashemi and Safavi, 2012;Ponzio et al, 2013;Wyckhuys et al, 2017;Beck et al, 2018). The five VOCs shown in Figure 4 were present at high concentrations in infected rose plants and were not produced by the mildew or by healthy rose plants under normal circumstance.…”

Relevance of visual and olfactory cues for host location in the mustard leaf beetle Phaedon cochleariae

“…Males and females have to fulfil different challenges with respect to host‐plant recognition for mating, feeding and oviposition. These may be mirrored in sex‐specific responses to plant cues (Faccoli et al , 2005; Costa et al , 2009).…”

Parasitoids of Quinoa Moth: Eurysacca Melanocampta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Eight Locations of Cusco, Peru

“…Furthermore, there is also the fact that different varieties of quinoa are used. As has already been demonstrated, quinoa varieties can have effects on pests and their natural enemies due to their architecture and chemical content [8], [19], but additionally, there is the introduction of new varieties to areas where they were not sown previously [7], thus generating increasingly complex interaction mechanisms [20], [21]. A striking aspect in the use of different varieties of quinoa is the fact that females are attracted by a certain variety, but males are more attracted to the smell derived from females than to the volatile compounds of plants [19].…”