Identifying plant DNA in the faeces of a generalist insect pest to inform trap cropping strategy

Companion planting is a well-known strategy to manage insect pests and support a natural enemy population through vegetative diversification. Trap cropping is one such type of special companion planting strategy that is traditionally used for insect pest management through vegetative diversification used to attract insect pests away from the main crops during a critical time period by providing them an alternative preferred choice. Trap crops not only attract the insects for feeding and oviposition, but also act as a sink for any pathogen that may be a vector. Considerable research has been conducted on different trap crops as companion plant species to develop improved pest management strategies. Despite this, little consensus exists regarding optimal trap cropping systems for diverse pest management situations. An advantage of trap cropping over an artificially released natural enemy-based biological control could be an attractive remedy for natural enemies in cropping systems. Besides, many trap crop species can conserve natural enemies. This secondary effect of attracting natural enemies may be an advantage compared to the conventional means of pest control. However, this additional consideration requires a more knowledge-intensive background to designing an effective trap cropping system. We have provided information based on different trap crops as companion plant, their functions and an updated list of trap cropping applications to attract insect pests and natural enemies that should be proven as helpful in future trap cropping endeavors.

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Laboratory evaluations of a wild crucifer Barbarea vulgaris as a management tool for the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

Bulletin of Entomological Research ◽

10.1079/ber2004328 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 94 (6) ◽

pp. 509-516 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Jian-hua Lu ◽

Shu-sheng Liu ◽

A.M. Shelton

Keyword(s):

Chinese Cabbage ◽

Plutella Xylostella ◽

Insect Pest ◽

Diamondback Moth ◽

Management Tool ◽

Trap Crop ◽

Barbarea Vulgaris ◽

Dead End ◽

Trap Cropping ◽

Important Pest

AbstractThe term ‘dead-end trap cropping’ has recently been proposed to identify a plant that is highly attractive for oviposition by an insect pest, but on which offspring of the pest cannot survive. The potential of the wild crucifer Barbarea vulgaris R. Br. to allure and serve as a dead-end trap crop for the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (L.), an important pest of cruciferous crops worldwide, was examined in laboratory experiments. When P. xylostella adults were provided with a dual-choice of plants of B. vulgaris, and Chinese cabbage Brassica campestris (L.), in one arena, adult moths laid 2.5–6.8 times more eggs on the former than on the latter. When P. xylostella adults were provided with a dual-choice of plants of B. vulgaris and common cabbage Brassica oleracea L., adult moths laid virtually all their eggs on the former and ignored the latter. Nearly all P. xylostella eggs laid on the three species of plants hatched successfully, but nearly all individuals on plants of B. vulgaris died as neonates or early instar larvae, while 87–100% of the larvae on Chinese cabbage and common cabbage survived to pupation. Dual choice tests with a Y-tube olfactometer showed that volatiles from B. vulgaris were much more attractive to P. xylostella adults than those from common cabbage. The results demonstrate that B. vulgaris has a great potential as a dead-end trap crop for improving management of P. xylostella. Factors that may influence the feasibility of using B. vulgaris as a trap crop in the field are discussed, and ways to utilize this plant are proposed.

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Evaluating trap cropping strategies for insect pest control through simulation models

Journal of Pest Science ◽

10.1007/s10340-016-0807-y ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 90 (2) ◽

pp. 601-610 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

María S. Fenoglio ◽

Martín Videla ◽

Juan M. Morales

Keyword(s):

Pest Control ◽

Insect Pest ◽

Simulation Models ◽

Insect Pest Control ◽

Trap Cropping

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Trap Cropping in Insect Pest Management

Journal of Sustainable Agriculture ◽

10.1300/j064v05n01_09 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 5 (1-2) ◽

pp. 117-136 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

I. Javaid ◽

J. M. Joshi

Keyword(s):

Pest Management ◽

Insect Pest ◽

Insect Pest Management ◽

Trap Cropping

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Restoring ancestral microbiome aids beetle adaptation to new diets

10.1101/352989 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Aparna Agarwal ◽

Deepa Agashe

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Insect Pest ◽

Adaptive Strategy ◽

Stored Grain ◽

Rapid Restoration ◽

Relationship Change ◽

Generalist Insect ◽

Rapid Environmental Change ◽

New Habitats

ABSTRACTEukaryotic hosts often depend on microbes that enhance their fitness, and such relationships may be relatively easily maintained in a stable environment. What is the fate of these associations under rapid environmental change? For instance, if the host switches to a new diet and/or encounters a different microbial community, how does the host-microbiome relationship change? Are the changes adaptive, and how rapidly do they occur? We addressed these questions with the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, a generalist insect pest that both consumes and lives in stored grain flour. We found that beetle fitness is enhanced by flour-acquired microbes in the ancestral habitat (wheat flour), but not in novel suboptimal environments (e.g. corn flour) that have a different resident microbial community. Beetles that disperse to new habitats thus have low fitness and a dramatically altered microbiome. Enriching novel habitats with ancestral (wheat-derived) microbes increased beetle fitness, suggesting a viable adaptive strategy. Indeed, within a few generations of laboratory adaptation to two distinct novel habitats, we found that beetle populations gradually restored their ancestral microbiome. Importantly, evolved populations showed a microbe-dependent increase in fecundity and survival on the new diet. We suggest that such repeated, rapid restoration of host-microbe associations may allow generalists to successfully colonize new habitats and escape extinction despite sudden environmental changes.

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Use of Molecular Gut Content Analysis to Decipher the Range of Food Plants of the Invasive Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects11040215 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 215 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alina Avanesyan ◽

William O. Lamp

Keyword(s):

Host Plants ◽

Insect Pest ◽

Significant Risk ◽

Food Plants ◽

Gut Contents ◽

Rbcl Gene ◽

Plant Dna ◽

Molecular Gut Content Analysis ◽

The Us ◽

Lycorma Delicatula

Spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), is an introduced highly invasive insect pest in the US that poses a significant risk to forestry and agriculture. Assessing and predicting plant usage of the lanternfly has been challenging, and little is known regarding the lanternfly nymph association with its host plants. In this study, we focused on: (a) providing a protocol for using molecular markers for food plant identification of L. delicatula; (b) determining whether the ingested plant DNA corresponds with DNA of the plants from which the lanternfly was collected; and, (c) investigating the spectrum of ingested plants. We utilized gut contents of third and fourth instar nymphs that were collected from multiple plants; we isolated ingested plant DNA and identified consumed plants. We demonstrated that (a) up to 534 bp of the rbcL gene from ingested plants can be detected in L. delicatula guts, (b) ingested plants in ~93% of the nymphs did not correspond with the plants from which the nymphs were collected, and (c) both introduced and native plants, as well as woody and non-woody plants, were ingested. This information will aid effective the monitoring and management of the lanternfly, as well as predict the lanternfly host plants with range expansion.

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Glucosinolate Induction and Resistance to the Cabbage Moth, Mamestra brassicae, Differs among Kale Genotypes with High and Low Content of Sinigrin and Glucobrassicin

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10091951 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 1951

Author(s):

Francisco Rubén Badenes-Pérez ◽

María Elena Cartea

Keyword(s):

Salicylic Acid ◽

Jasmonic Acid ◽

Brassica Oleracea ◽

Insect Pest ◽

Glucosinolate Content ◽

Mamestra Brassicae ◽

Generalist Insect ◽

Lepidoptera Noctuidae ◽

Cabbage Moth ◽

Brassica Oleracea L

The cabbage moth, Mamestra brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a generalist insect pest of cruciferous crops. We tested glucosinolate induction by jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA), and by these phytohormones combined with feeding by M. brassicae larvae in four genotypes of kale, Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala (Brassicaceae). The genotypes tested had high glucobrassicin (genotype HGBS), low glucobrassicin (genotype LGBS), high sinigrin (genotype HSIN), and low sinigrin content (genotype LSIN). Application of JA increased indolic and total glucosinolate content in all kale genotypes 1, 3, and 9 days after treatment. For SA-treated plants, glucosinolate induction varied depending on the number of days after treatment and the genotype. Overall, herbivory by M. brassicae accentuated and attenuated the effects of JA and SA, respectively, on plant glucosinolate content. Larvae of M. brassicae gained less weight on leaves from plants treated with JA compared to leaves from control plants and plants treated with SA. In bioassays with leaf discs, a significant reduction of defoliation only occurred in JA-treated plants of the HSIN genotype. This research shows that previous herbivory alters the susceptibility of kale to M. brassicae and that induction of glucosinolates varies among kale genotypes differing in their glucosinolate content.

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Identifying plant DNA in the sponging–feeding insect pest Drosophila suzukii

Journal of Pest Science ◽

10.1007/s10340-018-0963-3 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 91 (3) ◽

pp. 985-994 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Felix Briem ◽

Christiane Zeisler ◽

Yasemin Guenay ◽

Karin Staudacher ◽

Heidrun Vogt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Insect Pest ◽

Drosophila Suzukii ◽

Plant Dna

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Detection Of Plant DNA In Dietary Supplements

Planta Medica ◽

10.1055/s-0036-1578590 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 82 (05) ◽

Author(s):

N Techen ◽

I Parveeen ◽

IA Khan

Keyword(s):

Dietary Supplements ◽

Plant Dna

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THE SUCCESS OF THE LUCERNE MESSAGE IN MARLBOROUGH

Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association ◽

10.33584/jnzg.1981.42.1553 ◽

1981 ◽

pp. 179-183

Author(s):

A.J. Cresswell

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Weed Control ◽

Seed Yield ◽

Insect Pest ◽

Fold Increase ◽

Plant Spacing ◽

Insect Pest Control ◽

One Year ◽

Seed Yields ◽

New Cultivars

This paper, as well as being a testimonial to the benefit the writer has received from the Grassland Association, shows how the knowledge of scientists has been used to increase lucerne seed yields by methods of growing resistant cultivars especially for seed production as opposed to growing for hay, silage or grazing. It shows how new cultivars can be multiplied quickly by growing two crops in one year, one in each hemisphere, by using low seeding rates, wide plant spacing and very good weed control. Increased flowering of the crop has been achieved by the use of boron and the choice of time of closing; better pollination has been achieved by the use of more efficient bees - two varieties of which have been imported from North America. Weed and insect pest control and the use of a desiccant at harvest are contributing to a four-fold increase in seed yield, which should double again soon,

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