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Can alternative host plant and prey affect phytophagy and biological control by the zoophytophagous mirid Nesidiocoris tenuis?

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Abstract

Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae) is an important natural enemy of several key arthropod pests. However, in tomato crop this predator can cause economic damage owing to its zoophytophagous behavior. We investigated in laboratory conditions the influence of two alternative plants, Dittrichia viscosa L. (Asteraceae) and Sesamum indicum (L.) (Pedaliaceae), with or without prey, on N. tenuis damage and its biological control services on Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) eggs. Both D. viscosa and S. indicum, as companion plants in dual-choice bioassays, significantly reduced the damage of the mirid on tomato. S. indicum was more attractive than D. viscosa for feeding and oviposition and its presence did not interfere with the predation on T. absoluta eggs. We also studied the potential of the three plants as preyless rearing substrate for the mirid, and only S. indicum showed to be a suitable host plant for N. tenuis development and oviposition. The potential applications of S. indicum in N. tenuis field management and mass rearing are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank two anonymous referees, the handling editor and the editor-in-chief for the very helpful comments on the earlier versions of the manuscript. This research was partially funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (PRIN project GEISCA, 2010CXXHJE_004), and by the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013 under REA grant agreement n° 318246.

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  1. Antonio Biondi

    Present address: Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California Berkeley, 1801 Walnut Street #10, Berkeley, CA, 94709, USA

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  1. Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, via Santa Sofia 100, 95123, Catania, Italy

    Antonio Biondi, Lucia Zappalà, Angelo Di Mauro, Giovanna Tropea Garzia, Agatino Russo & Gaetano Siscaro

  2. French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), UMR 1355-7254 Institut Sophia Agrobiotech, Univ. Nice Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, 400 Route des Chappes, 06903, Sophia-Antipolis, France

    Nicolas Desneux

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Biondi, A., Zappalà, L., Di Mauro, A. et al. Can alternative host plant and prey affect phytophagy and biological control by the zoophytophagous mirid Nesidiocoris tenuis?. BioControl 61, 79–90 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-015-9700-5

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