Journal article
Oviposition preferences of the native budworm, Helicoverpa punctigera (Wallengren), on C-3 and C-4 plants
Crop and pasture science, Vol.72(11), pp.939-946
20/10/2021
Metrics
19 Record Views
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites
Abstract
The native budworm, Helicoverpa punctigera (Wallengren), is an important economic insect pest of cotton and other crops. It is widely distributed in Australia and has been recorded on a range of host plants including native, non-crop hosts in inland regions. To date, there are few records of its occurrence on plants with the C-4 photosynthetic pathway. Here, we assessed the oviposition preferences of H. punctigera for naturally occurring C-3 and C-4 plants under glasshouse conditions, to establish their potential as hosts. We conducted bioassays on two C-4 plants, saltbushes Atriplex nummularia Lindl. and Atriplex vesicaria Heward ex Benth.; and two C-3 plants, legumes Medicago polymorpha L. (burr medic) and Cullen cinereum (Lindl.) J.W.Grimes (annual verbine). The two C-4 plants attract egg laying in the field; however, C-3 plants are the preferred hosts. Ovipositing females showed a preference for the C-3 over the C-4 plants but oviposition occurred on both. Of the C-4 plants, females preferred to oviposit on A. nummularia (77%) over A. vesicaria (24%) in both a multi- and two-choice test. In addition, ovipositing females preferred the upper leaf surface of A. nummularia (68%) and the under leaf surface of A. vesicaria (64%) as their oviposition site. Our findings suggest that under field conditions, when C-4 plants such as saltbushes grow near C-3 plants, as occurs in inland regions, the C-4 plants could receive eggs along with the C-3 plants, enabling the initial stages of larval recruitment to occur in C-3 plants.
Details
- Title
- Oviposition preferences of the native budworm, Helicoverpa punctigera (Wallengren), on C-3 and C-4 plants
- Creators
- Samuel A. Bawa - University of New EnglandPeter C. Gregg - University of New EnglandAlice P. Del Socorro - University of New EnglandCara Miller - University of New EnglandNigel R. Andrew - University of New England
- Publication Details
- Crop and pasture science, Vol.72(11), pp.939-946
- Publisher
- Csiro Publishing
- Number of pages
- 8
- Grant note
- University of New England
- Identifiers
- 991013087507602368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article