DIFFERENCE IN PROBING BEHAVIOUR OF TEA APHID ON VEGETATIVE PARTS OF TEA PLANT AND NON-HOST PLANTS

Abstract

Abstract Electrical penetration graph (EPG) investigation showed that the secreting (El) and sucking (E2) times of tea aphid stylet in tea phloem were much longer than that on non-host plants such as soybean and wheat. However, non-feeding wave (np) was shorter than that on soybean and wheat. Duration of both El and E2 of stylet in tea phloem of 1st leaf, bud, 4th leaf and tender stem occupied 30.2%, 22.3%, 9.2% and 8.2% of the total experimental time, respectively. E2 wave was accompanied by honeydew secretion, with a time lag. Tea aphid preferred the tender parts, in which amino acids and other nutritional components were very rich. While the stylet of hungry tea aphid was forced to pierce phlom of non-host plant (soybean or wheat), El and E2 waves were also produced, but the action of stylet could be disrupted by tea shoot volatile (10–6 V/V linalool, etc.) emitted near to the antennae. It was considered that before and under probing tea aphid made use of olfactory clues.