Female Salix viminalis are more severely infected by Melampsora spp. but neither sex experiences associational effects.

ABSTRACT: Associational effects of plant genotype or species on plant biotic interactions are common, not least for disease spread, but associational effects of plant sex on interactions have largely been ignored. Sex in dioecious plants can affect biotic interactions with herbivores and pollinators; however, its effects on plant-pathogen interactions are understudied and associational effects are unknown. In a replicated field experiment, we assessed Melampsora spp. leaf rust infection in monosexual and mixed sex plots of dioecious Salix viminalis L. to determine whether plant sex has either direct or associational effects on infection severity. We found no differences in Melampsora spp. infection severity among sexual monocultures and mixtures in our field experiment. However, female plants were o

SUBMITTER: Moritz KK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4725332 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature