Does cadmium cause cascading effects on the development and reproduction of the striped stem borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker)?

• Published in: CABI agriculture and bioscience 2023-10, Vol.4 (1), p.1-8, Article 45
• Main Authors: Huang, Hexi, Di, Ning, Wang, Jie, Wang, Yuxing, Zhu, Zhengyang, Lu, Caige, Wang, Su, Zang, Liansheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bottom-up effect; Cadmium; Chilo suppressalis; Heavy metal; Pest; Rice
• ISSN: 2662-4044; 2662-4044
• DOI: 10.1186/s43170-023-00185-z

The heavy metal, cadmium (Cd), causing growth retardation and yield reduction on rice and impacting the fitness of organisms inhabiting on rice through bottom-up effects, has become a great challenge to rice production. However, the effect of Cd-exposure on the development of an economically important and destructive rice pest, Chilo suppressalis remains unexplored. By exposing the larvae of C. suppressalis to different Cd-exposed artificial diets (0, 0.2, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mg/kg), we found that Cd exposure did not affect the larval duration or pupation rate of C. suppressalis , but caused negative effects on pupal weight at high Cd levels (5.0 and 10.0 mg/kg) and on adult deformity rate from 2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg treatments. Although Cd significantly increased the female pupae ratio, C. suppressalis did not oviposit when Cd treatment was more than 2.5 mg/kg. Meanwhile, Cd transferred to pupae, females, exuviae of pupa and eggs of C. suppressalis from Cd treated larvae, and exhibited a dose-dependent response on Cd accumulation. Our results indicated that Cd had a negative effect on rice stem borer and can be transferred to eggs of C. suppressalis , but more work is needed to further assess the bottom-up effect on third tropic levels in Cd-polluted fields.