Abstract
Simple SummaryAlthough substantial studies exists evaluating the effects of photo-selective nets (PSN) on physiological and morphological aspects of crops in different parts of the world, there is a paucity of studies regarding the effects of PSN on the searching behavior of natural enemies of insect pests. Cydia pomonella is a major insect pest of apples worldwide and the parasitoid Mastrus ridens is an important natural enemy of this pest. We evaluated the effects of pearl and red PSN and black standard nets (SN) on the searching behavior of this parasitoid. The host localization ability of the parasitoid was significantly affected by the net color. The females found their hosts faster under the pearl and red PSN compared to the black SN. However, no effects were found in terms of parasitism or the initial behavior of the parasitoid. Even though parasitism was not affected, host localization was delayed under black SN compared to the other PSN. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out further studies in field conditions to verify whether parasitism or other parameters could be affected.Photo-selective nets (PSN) are used to manipulate the physiology of fruit crops. Besides their advantages to the crop, PSN potentially affect insect pests and their natural enemies. We aimed to assess the effects of these production systems on the searching behavior of the codling moth parasitoid, Mastrus ridens. We hypothesized that PSN and black standard nets (SN) affect the behavior of the parasitoid by delaying host localization and reducing parasitism. Laboratory experiments were carried out in closed cages under four treatment conditions: black SN, pearl PSN, red PSN, and no PSN as control (uncovered cages). Our results showed that the host localization of M. ridens was delayed under black SN and enhanced by pearl and red PSN. The PSN and the black SN did not affect the parasitism levels. In addition, the initial behavior of the parasitoid during the first 30 min of the bioassays was not affected by treatments. However, females spent most of the time walking around the arena, grooming, or resting, regardless of the color of the net. Parasitism was not affected under the PSN or the black SN; however, this must be verified in field conditions.
Highlights
The increased UV radiation observed after the weakening of the ozone layer and the increasing occurrence of unexpected climatic events are challenging obstacles to global food production, for fruits [1,2]
The host localization capability levels of M. ridens differed significantly depending on the use of colored photo-selective nets (PSN) or black standard nets (SN) in our experimental cages (Figure 1, Table S1)
No significant differences were observed along the observation time between the host localization capabilities of the parasitoids under the black SN compared to parasitoids under no PSN
Summary
The increased UV radiation observed after the weakening of the ozone layer and the increasing occurrence of unexpected climatic events (rain, hail, frosts, etc.) are challenging obstacles to global food production, for fruits [1,2]. In addition to light quantity, the light quality that passes through the nets onto the crops has been manipulated to promote certain physiological responses in target plants and to improve fruit quality For this purpose, photo-selective nets (PSN) of different colors were developed to provide physical protection and differential filtration of the solar spectra. Compared to other PSN and black SN, under pearl PSN, there is a higher amount of diffuse light, which improves the light penetration into the inner, most shaded canopies of the crop [17] This light manipulation provided by the pearl PSN increases the fruit size (apples and pears), plant productivity (peppers), and total yield (apples) [7,10,18]. This light manipulation results in increased biomass (cucumber), vegetative growth (cucumber and foliage crops, e.g., Pittosporum variegatum), and average fruit weight (cucumber and pepper) [9,10]
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