Journal
JOURNAL OF PEST SCIENCE
Volume 88, Issue 4, Pages 685-691Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s10340-015-0662-2
Keywords
Omnivory; Tri-trophic interactions; Predation; Longevity; Plant quality; Biocontrol
Categories
Funding
- Environment and Agronomy department of INRA
- Chinese government
- FP7-IRSES project ASCII [318246]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Omnivorous Heteroptera predators play important roles in biological control of a wide range of pest insects. Their predation could be influenced by various biotic or abiotic factors. Here we examined the effects of nitrogen and water inputs to tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) on the predation strength of the omnivore Macrolophus pygmaeus Wagner (Hemiptera: Miridae) on eggs of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). We tested the hypothesis that a change in plant status, manipulated by sub-optimal nutrients and water inputs, may influence predation on E. kuehniella by the predator M. pygmaeus. Nitrogen and water restrictions depressed the predation of E. kuehniella eggs by M. pygmaeus. Moreover, we observed a 30 % reduction in predator longevity on plants under low water inputs. Therefore, the negative bottom-up effect of nitrogen and water limitations (in tomato plants) toward M. pygmaeus may be detrimental for mirid predator-based IPM programs in tomato crops.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available