Optimizing Crops for Biocontrol of Pests and Disease

Stenberg, Johan A.; Heil, Martin; Åhman, Inger; Björkman, Christer

doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2015.08.007

Cited by 156 publications

(125 citation statements)

References 129 publications

(198 reference statements)

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“…However, plant resistance traits, such as anti-herbivore defenses, have been lost from many crops through breeding during the 20th century (Rodriguez-Saona et al, 2011; Chen et al, 2015; Stenberg et al, 2015). In some cases, however, higher resistance can still be found in the crop’s wild relatives than in current commercial varieties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct and Pollinator-Mediated Effects of Herbivory on Strawberry and the Potential for Improved Resistance

et al. 2017

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The global decline in pollinators has partly been blamed on pesticides, leading some to propose pesticide-free farming as an option to improve pollination. However, herbivores are likely to be more prevalent in pesticide-free environments, requiring knowledge of their effects on pollinators, and alternative crop protection strategies to mitigate any potential pollination reduction. Strawberry leaf beetles (SLB) Galerucella spp. are important strawberry pests in Northern Europe and Russia. Given that SLB attack both leaf and flower tissue, we hypothesized pollinators would discriminate against SLB-damaged strawberry plants (Fragaria vesca, cultivar ‘Rügen’), leading to lower pollination success and yield. In addition we screened the most common commercial cultivar ‘Rügen’ and wild Swedish F. vesca genotypes for SLB resistance to assess the potential for inverse breeding to restore high SLB resistance in cultivated strawberry. Behavioral observations in a controlled experiment revealed that the local pollinator fauna avoided strawberry flowers with SLB-damaged petals. Low pollination, in turn, resulted in smaller more deformed fruits. Furthermore, SLB-damaged flowers produced smaller fruits even when they were hand pollinated, showing herbivore damage also had direct effects on yield, independent of indirect effects on pollination. We found variable resistance in wild woodland strawberry to SLB and more resistant plant genotypes than the cultivar ‘Rügen’ were identified. Efficient integrated pest management strategies should be employed to mitigate both direct and indirect effects of herbivory for cultivated strawberry, including high intrinsic plant resistance.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct and Pollinator-Mediated Effects of Herbivory on Strawberry and the Potential for Improved Resistance

et al. 2017

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“…sulcatus on Glen Rosa could be attributed to greater concentrations of VOCs released from root tissues at sites of tissue damage which could be attracting EPNs towards to their host’s location. Examining the interplay between plants, herbivores, natural enemies and how VOC emissions tie them all together is a growing field that may in future provide new territory for breeding in new types of pest resistant traits [44]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the Slow-Growth, High-Mortality Hypothesis Apply Below Ground?

et al. 2016

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Belowground tri-trophic study systems present a challenging environment in which to study plant-herbivore-natural enemy interactions. For this reason, belowground examples are rarely available for testing general ecological theories. To redress this imbalance, we present, for the first time, data on a belowground tri-trophic system to test the slow growth, high mortality hypothesis. We investigated whether the differing performance of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) in controlling the common pest black vine weevil Otiorhynchus sulcatus could be linked to differently resistant cultivars of the red raspberry Rubus idaeus. The O. sulcatus larvae recovered from R. idaeus plants showed significantly slower growth and higher mortality on the Glen Rosa cultivar, relative to the more commercially favored Glen Ample cultivar creating a convenient system for testing this hypothesis. Heterorhabditis megidis was found to be less effective at controlling O. sulcatus than Steinernema kraussei, but conformed to the hypothesis. However, S. kraussei maintained high levels of O. sulcatus mortality regardless of how larval growth was influenced by R. idaeus cultivar. We link this to direct effects that S. kraussei had on reducing O. sulcatus larval mass, indicating potential sub-lethal effects of S. kraussei, which the slow-growth, high-mortality hypothesis does not account for. Possible origins of these sub-lethal effects of EPN infection and how they may impact on a hypothesis designed and tested with aboveground predator and parasitoid systems are discussed.

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“…By genetically restoring the signal, it was possible to increase EPN attraction and increase plant protection against corn rootworm ( Diabrotica virgifera virgifera ) larvae in field trials [109]. Engineering new crops, taking into account EPN’s recruitment, might be a promising venue to explore [110,111]. However, overexpression of ( E )-β-caryophyllene in genetically-modified corn lines has also been shown to trigger both physiological and ecological costs [112].…”

Section: Nematodesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Control beneath the Feet: A Review of Crop Protection against Insect Root Herbivores

Kergunteuil

Bakhtiari

Formenti

et al. 2016

Insects

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Sustainable agriculture is certainly one of the most important challenges at present, considering both human population demography and evidence showing that crop productivity based on chemical control is plateauing. While the environmental and health threats of conventional agriculture are increasing, ecological research is offering promising solutions for crop protection against herbivore pests. While most research has focused on aboveground systems, several major crop pests are uniquely feeding on roots. We here aim at documenting the current and potential use of several biological control agents, including micro-organisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi, and nematodes) and invertebrates included among the macrofauna of soils (arthropods and annelids) that are used against root herbivores. In addition, we discuss the synergistic action of different bio-control agents when co-inoculated in soil and how the induction and priming of plant chemical defense could be synergized with the use of the bio-control agents described above to optimize root pest control. Finally, we highlight the gaps in the research for optimizing a more sustainable management of root pests.

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Optimizing Crops for Biocontrol of Pests and Disease

Cited by 156 publications

References 129 publications

Direct and Pollinator-Mediated Effects of Herbivory on Strawberry and the Potential for Improved Resistance

Direct and Pollinator-Mediated Effects of Herbivory on Strawberry and the Potential for Improved Resistance

Does the Slow-Growth, High-Mortality Hypothesis Apply Below Ground?

Biological Control beneath the Feet: A Review of Crop Protection against Insect Root Herbivores

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