Vines avoid coiling around neighbouring plants infested by polyphagous mites.

ABSTRACT: Vines that coil around plants heavily infested with ambulate polyphagous mites can be heavily damaged by the mites. To explore whether vines avoid mite-infested plants, we observed the coiling responses of morning glory (Ipomoea nil var. Heavenly Blue) vines and bush killer (Cayratia japonica (Thunb) Gagnep) tendrils around nearby kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plants that were either uninfested or heavily infested with the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch). The proportions of I. nil vines that coiled around spider mite-infested and uninfested bean plants did not differ significantly; however, no C. japonica tendril coiled around spider mite-infested plants. The proportion of such tendrils was thus significantly lower than that around uninfested plants. The ability of

SUBMITTER: Nakai T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6488603 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature