Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Pest Manag Sci. 2011 Feb;67(2):233-8. doi: 10.1002/ps.2059.
Vermicompost is an organic soil amendment produced by earthworm digestion of organic waste. Studies show that plants grown in soil amended with vermicompost grow faster, are more productive and are less susceptible to a number of arthropod pests. In light of these studies, the present study was designed to determine the type of insect resistance (antixenosis or antibiosis) present in plants grown in vermicompost-amended potting soil. Additionally, the potential role of microarthropods, entomopathogenic organisms and non-pathogenic microbial flora found in vermicompost on insect resistance induction was investigated.
Findings show that vermicompost from two different sources (Raleigh, North Carolina, and Portland, Oregon) were both effective in causing Arabidopsis plants to be resistant to the generalist herbivore Helicoverpa zea (Boddie). However, while the Raleigh (Ral) vermicompost plant resistance was expressed as both non-preference (antixenosis) and milder (lower weight and slower development) toxic effect (antibiosis) resistance, Oregon (OSC) vermicompost plant resistance was expressed as acute antibiosis, resulting in lower weights and higher mortality rates.
Vermicompost causes plants to have non-preference (antixenosis) and toxic (antibiosis) effects on insects. This resistance affects insect development and survival on plants grown in vermicompost-amended soil. Microarthropods and entomopathogens do not appear to have a role in the resistance, but it is likely that resistance is due to interactions between the microbial communities in vermicompost with plant roots, as is evident from vermicompost sterilization assays conducted in this study.
蚯蚓粪是一种有机土壤改良剂，由蚯蚓消化有机废物产生。研究表明，在添加蚯蚓粪的土壤中生长的植物生长更快、产量更高，并且对许多节肢动物害虫的敏感性较低。鉴于这些研究，本研究旨在确定在添加蚯蚓粪的盆栽土壤中生长的植物所具有的抗虫性类型（抗生性或抑菌性）。此外，还研究了在蚯蚓粪中发现的微节肢动物、昆虫病原生物和非病原微生物菌群在诱导昆虫抗性方面的潜在作用。
研究结果表明，来自北卡罗来纳州罗利和俄勒冈州波特兰的两种不同来源的蚯蚓粪都能有效地使拟南芥植物对一般食草性昆虫烟粉虱（Helicoverpa zea）产生抗性。然而，虽然罗利（Ral）蚯蚓粪植物抗性表现为非偏好（抗生性）和轻微的毒性（抑菌性）抗性（抗生性），但俄勒冈（OSC）蚯蚓粪植物抗性表现为急性抑菌性，导致体重减轻和死亡率增加。
蚯蚓粪会导致植物对昆虫产生非偏好（抗生性）和毒性（抑菌性）的影响。这种抗性会影响昆虫在添加蚯蚓粪的土壤中生长的植物上的发育和存活。微节肢动物和昆虫病原生物似乎在抗性中没有作用，但很可能是由于蚯蚓粪中的微生物群落与植物根系之间的相互作用导致了抗性，这从本研究中进行的蚯蚓粪灭菌试验中可以明显看出。
