Influence of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) on oviposition behaviour of Diceraeus melacanthus stink bug, an important pest of soybean and maize crops in South America

• Published in: Arthropod-plant interactions 2023-02, Vol.17 (1), p.77-89
• Main Authors: Borges, M., Michereff, M. F. F., Laumann, R. A., Santana, G. T., Castro, B. S., Silva, C. C., Blassioli-Moraes, M. C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Allelochemicals; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cajanus cajan; Cereal crops; Corn; Cotton; Crops; Ecology; Entomology; Fabaceae; Females; Herbivores; Insecticides; Invertebrates; Life Sciences; Natural enemies; Offspring; Original Paper; Oviposition; Pests; Pigeonpeas; Plant Pathology; Plant Sciences; Quercetin; Soybeans; Substrates; Trap crops; Volatile compounds; Volatiles
• ISSN: 1872-8855; 1872-8847
• DOI: 10.1007/s11829-022-09932-x

Diceraeus melacanthus Dallas, (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a polyphagous stink bug that has been reported to be an important pest in maize and soybean. Control of this herbivore in crops is achieved using insecticides. Use of companion plants to control and manage herbivores in crop areas has been proposed, but there are still few systems that have been deployed to growers. Trap crops work by attracting herbivores, removing them from target plants, or/and attracting their natural enemies. Observations in our laboratory revealed that female D. melacanthus oviposit in Cajanus cajan L. Millsp (Fabaceae) pods. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether C. cajan plants have potential for use as trap crops for D. melacanthus . In the current study, we evaluated the oviposition behaviour of D. melacanthus and its preference for different substrates, such as cotton bolls, C. cajan , Glycine max L. Merril (Fabaceae) and Phaseolus vulgaris L. (Fabaceae) pods; their behavioural response to constitutive volatiles emitted by C. cajan plants at different phenological stages; and the effect of non-volatile compounds of C. cajan pod on oviposition preference. The results revealed that D. melacanthus females prefer to oviposit on C. cajan pods, cotton bolls rubbed on C. cajan pods or cotton bolls treated with quercetin over cotton bolls and P. vulgaris pods. D. melacanthus females recognize and are attracted by volatiles of reproductive C. cajan plants. In addition to the preference for ovipositing, the offspring of D. melacanthus does not survive on C. cajan pods. Our results suggest that C. cajan plants have the potential to be evaluated as a trap crop for D. melacanthus .