Biological aspects and feeding behavior of cotton aphid in watermelon cultivars submitted to silicon application

Rosane Rodrigues Da Costa Pereira,Ronelza Rodrigues Da Costa Zaché,Douglas Marcelo Pinheiro Da Silva,Carlos Eduardo Pereira,Roneres Deniz Barbosa,Luciana Diniz Ferreira

doi:10.1590/1808-1657000132020

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research aimed to evaluate the biological aspects and the feeding behavior of Aphis gossypii in watermelon cultivars submitted to silicon application. The experiment was conducted at the Institute of Education, Agriculture and Environment of the Federal University of Amazonas, Humaitá, Brazil. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 2×3 factorial (with and without silicon; cultivars Crimson Sweet, Fairfax and Charleston), with ten replications. The application of silicic acid (1%) was carried out directly on the substrate using dose equivalent to 1 ton SiO2·ha-1, 25 days after sowing. The rearing of aphids was kept in cucumber plants, cultivar Caipira. Insect biology tests were conducted to evaluate the duration of the prereproductive, reproductive and postreproductive periods, longevity, number of nymphs, and feeding behavior using the honeydew secretion technique. Analysis of variance was performed using the statistical program SISVAR and the means were compared by the F and Scott–Knott test (p ≤ 0.05). The silicon application to watermelon plants affects the reproduction and feeding of A. gossypii. The watermelon plants cultivar Crimson Sweet treated with silicon has high resistance to feeding by A. gossypii.

Highlights

Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum & Nakai, is a Cucurbitaceae with a worldwide production of 118 million tons, and Brazil is the world’s fifth largest producer with 2.240 million tons (FAO, 2018)
The watermelon plants cultivar Crimson Sweet treated with silicon has high resistance to feeding by A. gossypii
It was observed that the number of nymphs of Schizaphis graminium (Rondani) was higher when not treated with silicon in sorghum plants (CARVALHO et al, 1999; COSTA; MORAES, 2006) and in wheat plants (BASAGLI et al, 2003)

Summary

Introduction

Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum & Nakai, is a Cucurbitaceae with a worldwide production of 118 million tons, and Brazil is the world’s fifth largest producer with 2.240 million tons (FAO, 2018). The aphid Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is one of the main pests of this crop (SILVA et al, 2002). This species can feed on different cultures and is widely distributed around the world (BLACKMAN; EASTOP, 1984). It sucks the plant sap, causes deformities in the leaves and branches, reduces the plant photosynthetic capacity, as well as facilitates transmission of viruses from the genus Potyvirus (PINTO et al, 2008)

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