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Influence of nonhost plant diversity and natural enemies on the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae, and pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, in alfalfa

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Abstract

We examined the effects of nonhost plant diversity and predators on the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Harris), the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), and their primary host plant, alfalfa, Medicago sativa L. Potato leafhopper intensity (i.e., leafhoppers/alfalfa stem density) and plant damage (i.e., hopperburn) were significantly greater in alfalfa mono- than in polycultures of alfalfa mixed with nonhost plant species. There was no significant effect of nonhost plant diversity on pea aphid intensity or on predator abundance. Predator:prey ratios were higher in poly- than in monoculture. One predator, Nabis sp., was selected for further study. A microcosm experiment indicated that Nabis is an effective predator of both herbivores, and suggested that nonhost plant diversity may enhance the predation of leafhoppers by Nabis. These results suggest that nonhost plant diversity and Nabis limit leafhopper populations and protect alfalfa from herbivory. The potential for nonhost plants to increase herbivore movement and vulnerability to predation is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Ursinus College Department of Biology and the UC Summer Fellows Program for financial support. The authors also offer their thanks to Matthew Wismer of Northern Star Farm for providing access to his alfalfa field, Cody Nagy for field assistance, George Didden Greenhouses, Inc. for the pots used in the experiment, and William Snyder, Mattias Jonsson, and two anonymous reviewers for providing valuable comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Biology, Ursinus College, 601 E. Main Street, Collegeville, PA, 19426, USA

    Cory S. Straub, Nathan P. Simasek, Mark R. Gapinski, Regan Dohm, Ellen O. Aikens & Sarah Muscella

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  1. Cory S. Straub
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  2. Nathan P. Simasek
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Correspondence to Cory S. Straub.

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Communicated by T. Haye.

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Straub, C.S., Simasek, N.P., Gapinski, M.R. et al. Influence of nonhost plant diversity and natural enemies on the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae, and pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, in alfalfa. J Pest Sci 86, 235–244 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-012-0465-7

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