How to translate text using browser tools
1 June 2009 Effects of Herbivory by Diaprepes abbreviates (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Larvae on Four Woody Ornamental Plant Species
Cliff G. Martin, Catharine Mannion, Bruce Schaffer
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The hypothesis that herbivory by Diaprepes root weevil larvae reduces leaf gas exchange and biomass was tested on buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus L.), Surinam cherry (Eugenia uniflora L.), mahogany (Sivietenia mahagoni Jacq.), and pond apple (Annona glabra L). For Surinam cherry, net CO2 assimilation, transpiration, and stomatal conductance, but not internal CO2 concentration (collectively referred to as leaf gas exchange values), were 7–32% higher in noninfested than infested plants. For buttonwood, all four gas exchange values were 10–54% higher for noninfested than infested plants 3 h after infestation with large, seventh-instar larvae. However, by 4 wk after this infestation, net CO2 assimilation, transpiration, and stomatal conductance, but not internal CO2 concentration, were 11–37% higher for infested than for noninfested plants. For mahogany and pond apple, there were few or no significant differences in leaf gas exchange values between infested and noninfested plants. For all species, mean shoot and root fresh and dry weights were higher for noninfested than infested plants, with the differences most significant for buttonwood (37–85% higher), followed by Surinam cherry (37–143% higher), mahogany (49–84% higher), and pond apple (24–46% higher), which had no significant differences. There were significant differences among plant species in mean head capsule widths, thus larval instars, of larvae recovered from soil with the largest larvae from Surinam cherry (2.59 ± 0.19 mm) and the smallest from mahogany (2.29 ± 0.06 mm). Based on differences in leaf gas exchange and plant biomass between infested and noninfested plants of the four species tested, buttonwood and Surinam cherry are the most vulnerable to feeding by Diaprepes larvae followed by mahogany then pond apple.

© 2009 Entomological Society of America
Cliff G. Martin, Catharine Mannion, and Bruce Schaffer "Effects of Herbivory by Diaprepes abbreviates (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Larvae on Four Woody Ornamental Plant Species," Journal of Economic Entomology 102(3), 1141-1150, (1 June 2009). https://doi.org/10.1603/029.102.0336
Received: 12 May 2008; Published: 1 June 2009
JOURNAL ARTICLE
10 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
Diaprepes abbreviatus
internal CO2 concentration
net CO2 assimilation
stomatal conductance
transpiration
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top