Hosting Capacity of Horticultural Plants for Insect Pests in Brazil

Abstract

Factors such as fertilization, allelochemicals, trichomes, weather, and natural enemies can influence pest populations. Thus, it is necessary to understand the factors that predispose vegetable species to pests and the role of polyculture, crop rotation, and neighboring plants. The objective of this research was to study the hosting capacity for pests of Abelmoschus esculentus (L.), Brassica oleracea L. vars. acephala and capitata, Capsicum annuum L., Cucurbita moschata (Duchesne), Cucurbita maxima Duchesne and Cucumis sativus L., Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., Solanum gilo Raddi and Solanum melongena L., and Phaseolus vulgaris L. The higher density of Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) adults on C. sativus can be due to the higher amount of pentacosane and octacosane in this plant. The occurrence of Brevicoryne brassicae (L.) only in Brassica spp. can be accounted for by the nonacosane of these plants. The low trichome density and greater palmitic acid level can explain the greatest damage by Aphis gossypii Glover in A. esculentum. Empoasca sp. was more frequent in P. vulgaris followed by A. esculentum, which are plants with lower K content. Solanum melongena was attacked more by Hydrangea similis (Walker) and Epitrix sp. perhaps because of higher palmitic acid and 11,14,17-eicosatrienoic methyl ester concentrations in their leaves. Frankliniella sp. exhibited more damage in C. sativus probably owing to higher pentacosane and octacosane in its leaves. Sistena sp. was more frequent in C. maxima and had higher octadecane levels and trichome density. The presence of ∞-humulene and hexacosane can explain the damage by Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) on L. esculentum.

Low moisture stress influences plant volatile emissions affecting herbivore interactions in tomato, Solanum lycopersicum

“…The sesquiterpene cues, caryophyllene and humulene were found in relatively high quantities among control plants (well irrigated plants under no moisture stress), displayed a gradual decrease in moderately stressed plants and were substantially scarce in severely stressed ones. The attraction of T. absoluta to humulene and caryophyllene has been reported earlier (Leite et al ., 2011; Proffit et al ., 2011; Panagiotis et al ., 2019). Further, enhanced proportions of these cues were found in oviposition‐induced volatiles after egg laying by T. absoluta in tomato implying their role in attracting parasitic wasps (Sasso et al ., 2007; Xiao et al ., 2012; Panagiotis et al ., 2019).…”

Effect of Plantation Date, Plant Cultivars and Plant Density on Insects’ Populations and Yield of Sunflower Crop

“…Further they found that the higher numbers of Aphis spp. were higher in squash plants because the higher ratios of total protein, total carbohydrates, and N, and the lower ratio of K. in the current study, the lowest population of insect plant feeders on Giza 102 can be due to the highest K levels that can minimize the magnitude of cumulated amino acids, which in turn can decline the piercing-sucking insect densities (Jansson and Ekbom, 2002;Leite et al, 2011). Potassium enters in the synthesis of RNA polymerase and reduces free amino acid levels in the juice of the plant (Marschner, 1995).…”

“…Thus, the defensive role of hair and resistance to insects is well documented in several crops (Horn, 1988;Goertzen and Small, 1993). For example, the hairy-leaf cotton cultivars have been colonized with lower Bemisia aggregations (Flint and Parks, 1990;Butler et al, 1991;Leite et al, 2011) and aphid populations than those of smooth leaf (Amine et al, 2017). Similarity, ) Bhat et al 1984) reported that cotton varieties with higher densities of leaf trichomes exhibited higher resistance to insects than those with lower densities.…”

Extratos vegetais no controle de brevicoryne brassicae nas brassicáceas

“…Sua sucção contínua de seiva provoca clorose e o enrugamento foliar, além de introduzir toxinas no sistema vascular da planta. Produzem excremento açucarado, que provoca o crescimento de fungos conhecidos como fumagina na superfície das folhas, reduzindo a área fotossintética (Leite et al, 2011).…”