Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Woodward Hall, 9 East Alumni Avenue, Kingston, RI.
Department of Plant Sciences and Entomology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI.
J Econ Entomol. 2020 Jun 6;113(3):1568-1571. doi: 10.1093/jee/toaa050.
Plant genotype influences plant suitability to herbivores; domesticated plants selected for properties such as high fruit yield may be particularly vulnerable to herbivory. Cultivated strains of highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L. can be high-quality hosts for larvae of the gregariously feeding notodontid Datana drexelii (Hy. Edwards). We conducted an experiment assessing D. drexelii larval survival and pupal weight when fed foliage from five blueberry cultivars: 'Bluecrop', 'Bluetta', 'Blueray', 'Lateblue', and 'Jersey'. We complemented this experimental work with repeated bush-level surveys of a managed blueberry patch for naturally occurring D. drexelii larval clusters. Larval survival and pupal weight were significantly higher on 'Lateblue' foliage than from the 'Bluecrop', 'Bluetta', and 'Jersey' cultivars. The blueberry patch surveys found more D. drexelii larval clusters on 'Bluehaven', 'Collins', and 'Darrow' bushes than on the cultivars 'Earliblue' and 'Jersey'. The low D. drexelii occurrence and performance on the 'Jersey' cultivar suggests that this variety may be appropriate for areas where this pest is common; conversely, their high occurrence on 'Bluehaven' 'Collins', and 'Darrow' suggests that these cultivars may be particularly vulnerable. Cultivar-level variation in herbivore vulnerability highlights how understanding plant-pest interactions can help manage agricultural species.
植物基因型会影响植物对食草动物的适应性；为了提高水果产量等特性而选育的栽培植物可能特别容易受到食草动物的侵害。高丛蓝莓（ Vaccinium corymbosum L.）的栽培品种可以成为群居取食的 Notodontid 幼虫 Datana drexelii（Hy. Edwards）的优质宿主。我们进行了一项实验，评估了幼虫在五种蓝莓品种的叶片上的存活率和蛹重：‘Bluecrop’、‘Bluetta’、‘Blueray’、‘Lateblue’和‘Jersey’。我们通过对一个管理蓝莓园的重复灌木水平调查，补充了这项实验工作，以了解自然发生的 D. drexelii 幼虫簇。幼虫存活率和蛹重都显著高于‘Lateblue’的叶片，而不是‘Bluecrop’、‘Bluetta’和‘Jersey’的叶片。蓝莓园调查发现，在‘Bluehaven’、‘Collins’和‘Darrow’灌木上的 D. drexelii 幼虫簇比在‘Earliblue’和‘Jersey’品种上的多。D. drexelii 在‘Jersey’品种上的发生和表现较低，这表明该品种可能适合于这种害虫常见的地区；相反，它们在‘Bluehaven’、‘Collins’和‘Darrow’上的高发生率表明这些品种可能特别脆弱。食草动物易感性的品种间变异突出表明，了解植物-害虫相互作用如何有助于管理农业物种。
