Abstract
Host plant attributes are essential factors determining the population dynamics of herbivorous insects. The developmental stage of host plants, in particular, may affect the biology of Grapholita molesta (Busck), a possibility that has rarely been examined. Here we assessed the effect of developmental stage of plum, peach, and apple fruits on the development and fecundity performance of G. molesta, along with an examination of the firmness and sugar content of the fruits. Among the fruits collected earliest (May 31), plum and apple were better food sources for G. molesta compared to peach in terms of development, reproduction, and life table parameters. However, despite the higher sugar content in peach, G. molesta larvae showed a lower rate of fruit penetration in peach, probably due to fruit firmness. In the later-collected fruit (June 25), both peach and apple were better than plum, as peach and apple were softer and had higher sugar content. Nevertheless, the penetration rate of larva was still low in peach probably due to pubescence on the fruit surface. Although the plum fruits in the later collection date were softer with higher sugar content, there was a negative impact on the development and reproduction because fruits started to liquefy earlier. In conclusion, the developmental stage of fruits with changes in fruit firmness or sugar content affected the development and reproduction of G. molesta, and apple would be the best food source.
Highlights
Host plant attributes are essential factors determining the population dynamics of herbivorous insects
We hypothesize that firmness and sugar content may affect the development and reproduction of G. molesta, and to test this, we investigated the effect of the developmental stages of plum, peach, and apple fruit on the development, reproduction, and life table parameters of G. molesta, while examining fruit firmness and sugar content
The physical characteristics and chemical components of host plants vary with their phenological stages[16,17,27,28,29], and this variation affects the performance of herbivorous insects, including development time, survival rate, and fecundity[13,30]
Summary
Host plant attributes are essential factors determining the population dynamics of herbivorous insects. We assessed the effect of developmental stage of plum, peach, and apple fruits on the development and fecundity performance of G. molesta, along with an examination of the firmness and sugar content of the fruits. Despite the higher sugar content in peach, G. molesta larvae showed a lower rate of fruit penetration in peach, probably due to fruit firmness. The developmental stage of fruits with changes in fruit firmness or sugar content affected the development and reproduction of G. molesta, and apple would be the best food source. Larvae of G. molesta feed at different sites on peaches and apples over the course of the growing season[21], and Du et al.[1] showed how phenological succession of peach and pear plants can influence the population dynamics of G. molesta.
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