Artificial Damage Induction in the Leaves of Chilli Plants Leads to the Release of Volatiles that Alter the Host Plant Selection Behaviour of Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

摘要

Chilli plants release volatile organic compounds following insect or mechanical damage. In laboratory experiments, the behavioural responses of Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) were investigated by using artificially damaged and undamaged chilli plants. The headspace volatiles released by the plants were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that the preference of adult whiteflies varied with the time after damage induction. No significant difference in distribution of whiteflies was noted between artificially damaged and undamaged chilli plants within 1 and 3 h of damage induction. However, whitefly adults preferably aggregated on undamaged chilli plants than on artificially damaged plants after 6 and 24 h of damage induction. Further, the artificially damaged plants were less preferred for subsequent oviposition than undamaged chilli plants. There was a significant quantitative difference (p<0.05) in the levels of volatile monoterpenes, i.e., alpha-pinene, p-cymene and beta-phellandrene, in artificially damaged plants after 24 h of damage induction compared with that in undamaged plants and artificially damaged plants after 1 h of damage induction. The increased emission of these volatile compounds might have altered the preference of whiteflies, leading them to avoid artificially damaged chilli plants