Farina Alessia, Massimino Cocuzza Giuseppe Eros, Suma Pompeo, Rapisarda Carmelo
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), Applied Entomology Section, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy.
Insects. 2023 Feb 8;14(2):164. doi: 10.3390/insects14020164.
Nowadays, in protected vegetable crops, pest management based mainly on biological control represents the most sustainable alternative to pesticide use. The cotton whitefly, , is one of the key pests that negatively impact the yield and quality of such crops in many agricultural systems. The predatory bug is one of the main natural enemies of the whitefly and is widely used for its control. However, the mirid can sometimes behave as a pest itself, causing damage to crops. In this study, we investigated the impact of as a plant feeder, by analyzing the combined impact of the whitefly pest and the predator bug on the morphology and physiology of potted eggplants under laboratory conditions. Our results showed no statistical differences between the heights of plants infested by the whitefly or by both insects compared with noninfested control plants. However, indirect chlorophyll content, photosynthetic performance, leaf area, and shoot dry weight were all greatly reduced in plants infested only by , compared with those infested by both pest and predator or with noninfested control plants. Contrarily, root area and dry weight values were more reduced in plants exposed to both of the insect species, compared with those infested only by the whitefly or compared with noninfested control plants, where the latter showed the highest values. These results show how the predator can significantly reduce the negative effects of infestation, limiting the damage it causes to host plants, though the effect of the mirid bug on the underground parts of the eggplant remains unclear. This information might be useful for a better understanding of the role that plays in plant growth, as well as for the development of management strategies to successfully control infestations by in cropping environments.
如今，在设施蔬菜作物中，主要基于生物防治的害虫管理是使用农药最可持续的替代方法。烟粉虱是许多农业系统中对这类作物的产量和品质产生负面影响的关键害虫之一。捕食性蝽是粉虱的主要天敌之一，被广泛用于粉虱防治。然而，这种盲蝽有时本身也会成为害虫，对作物造成损害。在本研究中，我们通过分析粉虱害虫和捕食性蝽对实验室条件下盆栽茄子形态和生理的综合影响，研究了盲蝽作为植食性昆虫的影响。我们的结果表明，与未受侵染的对照植株相比，受粉虱侵染或同时受两种昆虫侵染的植株高度没有统计学差异。然而，与受害虫和捕食者同时侵染的植株或未受侵染的对照植株相比，仅受盲蝽侵染的植株的间接叶绿素含量、光合性能、叶面积和地上部干重均大幅降低。相反，与仅受粉虱侵染的植株或未受侵染的对照植株相比，同时暴露于两种昆虫的植株的根面积和干重值降低得更多，后者的值最高。这些结果表明捕食者如何能够显著降低粉虱侵染的负面影响，限制其对寄主植物造成的损害，尽管盲蝽对茄子地下部分的影响尚不清楚。这些信息可能有助于更好地理解盲蝽在植物生长中的作用，以及制定管理策略以成功控制种植环境中粉虱的侵染。
