Red clover - a legume showing tolerance to clover root weevil

Cooper, B.M.; Crush, J. R.; Woodfield, D. R.; Willoughby, B.E.; Panckhurst, K.A.

doi:10.33584/jnzg.2003.65.2490

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Red clover Trifolium pratense L. has been observed to persist longer than white clover Trifolium repens L. during field screening of legumes for tolerance of Sitona lepidus Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) (Eerens et al , 2001; Cooper et al , 2003). Although this is thought to be related to adult feeding preferences, mixed results have been reported in laboratory studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction between Sitona lepidus and red clover lines selected for formononetin content

Gerard

Crush

Hackell

2005

Annals of Applied Biology

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Adult clover root weevil Sitona lepidus show a feeding preference for white clover Trifolium repens over red clover Trifolium pratense. The effects on S. lepidus of three red clover T. pratense lines, selected for high, medium, or low levels of the isoflavone formononetin in foliage, were compared in three experiments using white clover as a control. In a no-choice slant board experiment, weevil larval weights were greater for larvae feeding on white clover roots than those feeding on roots of the red clovers. The effect of larval root herbivory on plant growth was similar for all four clovers. Following root herbivory, a large increase in root and shoot formononetin levels was observed in the high-formononetin selection of red clover but little change in the low-formononetin red clover. In a no-choice experiment with sexually mature female adult weevils feeding on foliage of the four clovers, all the red clovers had increased weevil mortality. Female weevils eating the high-formononetin red clover laid fewer eggs than weevils eating white clover. The red clover diet caused a large accumulation of abdominal fat and/or oil in the weevils, whereas weevils feeding on white clover did not accumulate fat/oil. When sexually immature adult weevils were given a choice of foliage from all four clovers, white clover was eaten preferentially, and the low-formononetin red clover was preferred to the high-formononetin red clover. The results suggest that formononetin and associated metabolites in red clover may act as chemical defences against adult S. lepidus and that distribution in forage legumes can be manipulated by plant breeding to improve root health.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction between Sitona lepidus and red clover lines selected for formononetin content

Gerard

Crush

Hackell

2005

Annals of Applied Biology

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“…Red clovers are not a preferred diet for root weevil although given no choice they will feed on them (Gerard & Crush 2003). Red clover is a potential alternative, or supplement to white clover in CRW regions (Cooper et al . 2003), and it should be considered for inclusion in seeds mixtures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All of the red clover breeding lines in the top ten group were cree ping or spreading types. Two of these had shown superior perf ormance under CRW pr essure in an earlier trial on a Warkworth dairy f arm (Cooper et al 2003). Only one white clover -a breeding line selected for resistance to plant feeding nematodes, made the top ten lists at both sites.…”

Section: Field Trialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our current advice to farmers sowing white clover is to choose newer cultivars, welladapted for their production system, and manage the pasture for maximum clover vigour (Crush et al 2004). Red clover is not readily eaten by CRW, and some modern red clovers show considerable promise under root weevil pressure (Cooper et al 2003). The objective of the work reported here is to identify clover germplasm that is welladapted to cope with the additional stress imposed by CRW.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development of clovers that are tolerant to clover root weevil

Crush¹,

Cooper²,

Woodfield³

et al. 2005

ProNZG

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Clover root weevil (CRW) has become a major pest of white clover in pastures in much of the North Island. In contemporary, intensively stocked pastures, high volumes of nitrogen (N) cycling through the soil/plant/ animal system stimulate grass growth and reduce the clover content of pastures. Clover root weevil imposes further stresses on clovers. A range of white and red clover germplasm was evaluated f or CRW tolerance from 2002-2005 on Waikato dairy and sheep/beef farms. Results confirmed the importance of good agronomic adaptation if clovers are to survive the additional stress of CRW. Two recently released white clover cultivars (Grasslands Kopu II and Tribute) were amongst the top performing lines under dairy farm grazing. Under sheep/ beef grazing, spreading type red clovers also performed well. A white c lover breeding line selected for tolerance of plant-feeding nematodes was in the top group of clovers at both sites. Reducing stresses on clovers from other pasture pests will contribute to improved tolerance to CRW. A glasshouse experiment showed that CRW larval feeding can severely damage white clover nodules and reduce N fixation. The plants have considerable capacity to grow new nodules but this diverts energy away from other growth processes. Our conclusions are that welladapted, vigorous white clover cultivars are better able to cope with the additional stress imposed by the root weevil. Good pasture management and attention to fertiliser requirements can improve clover survival under root weevil herbivory. New generation red clovers show considerable potential for weevil infested areas. Coselection for tolerance/resistance to other major clover pests e.g. clover flea and root nematodes will improve plant performance under CRW stress. Keywords: clover root weevil, nitrogen fixation, plant breeding, red clover, white clover

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“…CRW adults do however show some habituation to a red clover diet after no-choice feeding on the species (Gerard and Crush 2003). Some modern red clover cultivars show considerable promise under CRW pressure in intensively grazed dairy (Cooper et al 2003) and sheep/beef (Crush et al 2005) pastures, and are recommended for inclusion in seed mixtures where CRW is present (Crush et al 2005). CRW larval root feeding caused a pronounced elevation in the formononetin content of red clover seedlings in a slant board (Hardwick and Prestidge 1996) experiment (Gerard et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formononetin in clovers as a feeding deterrent against clover root weevil

Crush¹,

Gerard²,

Rasmussen³

2006

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The effect of leaf feeding by adult clover root weevils on the isoflavonoid content of red and white clovers was investigated in a glasshouse experiment. Lines of both clovers previously selected for variation in formononetin content were used. A higher percentage of white clover leaves than red clover leaves were damaged by the weevils, and the high formononetin red clover was least readily eaten. The formononetin content of the white clovers did not differ between the selections, was much lower than in the red clovers, and did not change in response to weevil feeding. In both red clover lines, formononetin and biochaninA levels rose in response to weevil feeding, suggesting that both compounds have antifeedant properties against clover root weevil. Because high foliar levels of oestrogenic compounds like formononetin threaten fertility of grazing sheep it is concluded that plant breeding programmes should increase the levels of formononetin and/or biochaninA in clover roots to mitigate the impact of weevil larval feeding on roots and nodules.

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Red clover - a legume showing tolerance to clover root weevil

Cited by 7 publications

References 8 publications

Interaction between Sitona lepidus and red clover lines selected for formononetin content

Interaction between Sitona lepidus and red clover lines selected for formononetin content

Development of clovers that are tolerant to clover root weevil

Formononetin in clovers as a feeding deterrent against clover root weevil

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