Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (2010) 135, 208-216

Mojtaba Hosseini, Ahmad Ashouri, Annie Enkegaard, Wolfgang W. Weisser, Seyed Hossein Goldansaz, Mahdi Nassiri Mahalati and Hamid Reza Sarraf Moayeri (2010)
Plant quality effects on intraguild predation between Orius laevigatus and Aphidoletes aphidimyza
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 135 (2), 208-216
Abstract: To understand the influence of plant quality on intraguild predation and consequently on the suppression of a shared prey population as well as on plant yield, the interactions between Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) (shared prey), Aphidoletes aphidimyza (Rondani) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) (intermediate predator), and Orius laevigatus Fieber (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) (top predator) were investigated in 25-day experiments on cucumber, Cucumis sativus L. (Cucurbitaceae) at various N fertilization levels (90, 150, and 190 p.p.m.) in microcosm set-ups under greenhouse conditions. The final aphid population size was significantly affected by an interactive effect of N fertilization and predator application. Regardless of the N fertilization levels, O. laevigatus alone was more effective in aphid suppression than A. aphidimyza alone. In addition, the risk for aphids of being predated upon by both predators together was significantly reduced in the low and medium-N fertilization levels, whereas it was additive in the high-N fertilization treatment. The A. aphidimyza population was suppressed by O. laevigatus in both the 90 and 150 p.p.m. N treatments. However, there was no intraguild predation of O. laevigatus on A. aphidimyza at the 190 p.p.m. N level. Total plant yield depended on predator treatments and N fertilization levels, with the highest yield produced at the 150 p.p.m. N fertilization level in treatments with either O. laevigatus alone or with both predators together. Our results demonstrate that the weak asymmetric intraguild predation among A. aphidimyza and O. laevigatus does not influence the ability of both predators together to diminish bottom-up effects on aphid populations and the yield losses associated with aphid infestations.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Ahmad Ashouri

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
environment/habitat manipulation

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Aphis gossypii	Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
Aphidoletes aphidimyza (predator)	Aphis gossypii	Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
Orius laevigatus (predator)	Aphis gossypii	Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)