Ahmed M. Saveer, Gundersen-Rindal Dawn, Aijun Zhang
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The cotton seed bug (CSB), Oxycarenus hyalinipennis (Hemiptera: Oxycarenidae), globally emerging pest native to Africa, is a serious insect pest of cotton, posing a significant threat to crop yield and quality. Both nymphs and adults feed on developing cotton seeds. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are key mediators of behavioral responses in heteropteran insects, including CSB, influencing aggregation, mating, and oviposition. In this study, we evaluated the behavioral role of volatiles emitted from nymph exuviae of CSB. Using a combination of Y-tube olfactometer, dual-choice refuge, and dual-choice oviposition bioassays, we assessed the responses of different developmental stages and reproductive statuses to exuviae-associated VOCs. Our results showed that nymphs and mated females were significantly attracted to nymph exuviae VOCs, with nymphs showing >78% and mated females >73% preference in both the Y-tube and refuge assays, whereas unmated females and males (mated and unmated) exhibited no attraction or a slight aversion. Furthermore, gravid females preferentially oviposited on cotton seeds exposed to nymph exuviae VOCs, suggesting that these chemical cues signal suitable oviposition sites, optimizing the chances for the offspring survivorship. This study provides the first evidence that exuviae-associated VOCs in O. hyalinipennis serve as multifunctional semiochemicals, guiding both aggregation and reproductive behavior. These findings offer new insights into the chemical ecology of CSB and highlight potential avenues for semiochemical-based pest management strategies to control CSB population, including the development of attract-and-kill systems for use in integrated pest management (IPM) programs.
期刊介绍:
The Editors of Crop Protection especially welcome papers describing an interdisciplinary approach showing how different control strategies can be integrated into practical pest management programs, covering high and low input agricultural systems worldwide. Crop Protection particularly emphasizes the practical aspects of control in the field and for protected crops, and includes work which may lead in the near future to more effective control. The journal does not duplicate the many existing excellent biological science journals, which deal mainly with the more fundamental aspects of plant pathology, applied zoology and weed science. Crop Protection covers all practical aspects of pest, disease and weed control, including the following topics:
-Abiotic damage-
Agronomic control methods-
Assessment of pest and disease damage-
Molecular methods for the detection and assessment of pests and diseases-
Biological control-
Biorational pesticides-
Control of animal pests of world crops-
Control of diseases of crop plants caused by microorganisms-
Control of weeds and integrated management-
Economic considerations-
Effects of plant growth regulators-
Environmental benefits of reduced pesticide use-
Environmental effects of pesticides-
Epidemiology of pests and diseases in relation to control-
GM Crops, and genetic engineering applications-
Importance and control of postharvest crop losses-
Integrated control-
Interrelationships and compatibility among different control strategies-
Invasive species as they relate to implications for crop protection-
Pesticide application methods-
Pest management-
Phytobiomes for pest and disease control-
Resistance management-
Sampling and monitoring schemes for diseases, nematodes, pests and weeds.