Protection against insect predation during fruit development: the role of fleshy fruit wings of three species of Zygophyllum in the cold desert of Central Asia.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Fruit wings serve various ecological functions, including facilitating wind dispersal, providing physical protection to seeds, and regulating seed germination. While many studies have reported the role of fruit wings in plants, little is known about their protective function during fruit development.

Methods

In this study, winged fruits damaged by insects in natural populations of three Zygophyllum species (Z. potaninii, Z. lehmannianum and Z. macropterum) were investigated. We measured and compared the percentage of damaged winged fruits, seed set, seed mass, seed germination, and seedling growth of different insect herbivory categories.

Results

The results revealed that the percentage of winged fruits with damaged wings only

SUBMITTER: Xie K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10682714 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature