Enhanced top-down control of herbivore population growth on plants with impaired defences.

ABSTRACT: Herbivore densities can be regulated by bottom-up and top-down forces such as plant defences and natural enemies, respectively. These forces can interact with each other to increase plant protection against herbivores; however, how much complementarity exists between bottom-up and top-down forces still remains to be fully elucidated. Particularly, because plant defences can hinder natural enemies, how these interactions affect herbivore performance and dynamics remains elusive.To address this topic, we performed laboratory and greenhouse bioassays with herbivorous mite pests and predatory mites on mutant tomato plants that lack defensive hairs on stems and leaves. Particularly, we investigated the behaviour and population dynamics of different phytophagous mite species in the absence and p

SUBMITTER: Legarrea S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9826462 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature