Does elevated CO2 affect the biological aspects of Liriomyza sativae in melon plants?

Abstract

An increase in the carbon dioxide concentration (CO2) in the atmosphere has occurred in recent years, influencing the different biological aspects of herbivorous insects. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of CO2 increase on the biological aspects of Liriomyza sativae Blanchard leafminer in melon plants. For this, two experiments were carried out: (i) to evaluate the effect of melon plants grown in CO2-enriched environments on the immature developmental stages of L. sativae and L. sativae adult longevity, and (ii) to verify the impact of increased CO2 concentration on L. sativae adult survival, feeding punctures, and oviposition. The experiments were carried out in growth chambers maintained in the temperature regime of 20-26-33 °C (simulating the minimum, average, and maximum daily temperature) and under two CO2 concentrations (400 ppm and 770 ppm). The immature stages and the egg-adult period of L. sativae were longer when they developed on plants grown in high CO2 levels (770 ppm), but no difference in adult longevity was observed. The viability of the immature phases was not different between the two CO2 concentrations. Furthermore, there was no difference in the number of eggs and feeding punctures between treatments. Thus, the increase in CO2 concentration prolongs the duration of the immature stages of L. sativae; however, it does not affect their viability. Adult survival, fertility, and feeding punctures were also unmodified by the environment enriched with CO2.