Pest Management Science (2010) 66, 767-772

Chiara Ferracini, Paolo Curir, Marcello Dolci, Virginia Lanzotti and Alberto Alma (2010)
Aesculus pavia foliar saponins: defensive role against the leafminer Cameraria ohridella
Pest Management Science 66 (7), 767-772
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Recently, the leafminer Cameraria ohridella Deschka and Dimic has caused heavy damage to the white-flowering horse chestnut in Europe. Among the Aesculus genus, A. pavia L. HBT genotype, characterised by red flowers, showed an atypical resistance towards this pest. Its leaves, shaken in water, originated a dense foam, indicating the presence of saponins, unlike the common horse chestnut tree. The aim was to isolate and identify these leaf saponins and test their possible defensive role against C. ohridella.
RESULTS: Spectroscopic analyses showed that A. pavia HBT genotype leaves contained a mixture of saponins, four of which were based on the same structure as commercial escin saponins, the typical saponin mixture produced by A. hippocastanum and accumulated only within bark and fruit tissues. The mixture showed a repellent effect on C. ohridella moth. The number of mines detected on the leaves of A. hippocastanum plants treated with A. pavia HBT saponins through watering and stem brushing was significantly lower than the control, and in many cases no mines were ever observed.
CONCLUSION: The results showed that the exogenous saponins were translocated from roots/stem to the leaf tissues, and their accumulation seemed to ensure an appreciable degree of protection against the leafminer.
(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): Paolo Curir, Alberto Alma

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
resistance/tolerance/defence of host

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Cameraria ohridella	Horse-chestnut/buckeye (Aesculus)