Abstract
Variation in resource inputs to plants may trigger bottom-up effects on herbivorous insects. We examined the effects of water input: optimal water vs. limited water; water salinity: with vs. without addition of 100 mM NaCl; and their interactions on tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum), and consequently, the bottom-up effects on the tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meytick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Plant growth was significantly impeded by limited water input and NaCl addition. In terms of leaf chemical defense, the production of tomatidine significantly increased with limited water and NaCl addition, and a similar but non-significant trend was observed for the other glycoalkaloids. Tuta absoluta survival did not vary with the water and salinity treatments, but the treatment “optimal water-high salinity” increased the development rate without lowering pupal mass. Our results suggest that caution should be used in the IPM program against T. absoluta when irrigating tomato crops with saline water.
Highlights
Variation in resource inputs to plants may trigger bottom-up effects on herbivorous insects
Our study demonstrated that varying water-salinity treatments on tomato plants triggered bottom-up effects on plant-leaf miner interactions
Tuta absoluta survival did not vary with the water and salinity treatments; the insect development rate increased without lowering pupal mass under the increased salinity conditions
Summary
Variation in resource inputs to plants may trigger bottom-up effects on herbivorous insects. We evaluated the effects of water-salinity on plant growth and chemical defense traits, as well as on insect survival and development. Salt addition had a significant effect on T. absoluta development time from egg to pupa or to adult (Table 1B), whereas water input and its interaction with salinity stress did not.
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