Host-Plant Variations Affect the Biotic Potential, Survival, and Population Projection of Myzus Persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)
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insects Article Host-Plant Variations Affect the Biotic Potential, Survival, and Population Projection of Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) Muhammad Yasir Ali 1 , Tayyaba Naseem 2 , Muhammad Arshad 3 , Ijaz Ashraf 4, Muhammad Rizwan 5,* , Muhammad Tahir 6, Misbah Rizwan 5, Samy Sayed 7 , Muhammad Irfan Ullah 3 , Rashad Rasool Khan 8 , Muhammad Bilal Amir 1, Mingzhen Pan 1 and Tong-Xian Liu 1,* 1 College of Plant Health and Medicine, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China; [email protected] (M.Y.A.); [email protected] (M.B.A.); [email protected] (M.P.) 2 Department of Botany, Government College Women University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan; [email protected] 3 Department of Entomology, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan; [email protected] (M.A.); [email protected] (M.I.U.) 4 Institute of Agriculture Extension, Education and Rural Development, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan; [email protected] 5 Rice Research Institute, Kala Shah Kaku, Sheikhupura 54000, Pakistan; [email protected] 6 Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan; [email protected] 7 Department of Science and Technology, University College-Ranyah, Taif University, B.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia; [email protected] Citation: Ali, M.Y.; Naseem, T.; 8 Department of Entomology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan; [email protected] Arshad, M.; Ashraf, I.; Rizwan, M.; * Correspondence: [email protected] (M.R.); [email protected] (T.-X.L.); Tahir, M.; Rizwan, M.; Sayed, S.; Tel.: +92-300-7140137 (M.R.) Ullah, M.I.; Khan, R.R.; et al. Host-Plant Variations Affect the Biotic Simple Summary: Understanding insect–plant interactions is important in designing an integrated Potential, Survival, and Population pest management program. Green peach aphid is a major insect pest of a wide range of crops. We Projection of Myzus persicae studied the effects of five vegetable plants on the life table parameters of aphids. Our findings showed (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Insects 2021, that cabbage was the less felicitous host plant to aphids for fecundity and survival. Contrarily, chili 12, 375. https://doi.org/10.3390/ pepper was the most susceptible plant and was quite suitable for the faster growth and development insects12050375 of aphids. The information is very useful in designing the integrated pest management strategy against aphids. Academic Editor: Nickolas G. Kavallieratos Abstract: The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae), a polyphagous Received: 30 March 2021 insect pest is a major threat to a wide range of crops worldwide. Aiming to evaluate the life history Accepted: 17 April 2021 traits of M. persicae, feeding on different host plants, we used five vegetables: cabbage, Brassica oleracea Published: 21 April 2021 (Brassicaceae); chinese cabbage, B. rapa (Brassicaceae); chili pepper, Capsicum annum (Solanaceae); crown daisy, Chrysanthemum coronarium (Asteraceae); and eggplant, Solanum melongena (Solanaceae). Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral TWOSEX-MSchart software was used for the statistical analysis about the age-stage, two-sex life with regard to jurisdictional claims in table theory. The highest fecundity (69.65 individuals) rate of M. persicae, intrinsic rate of increase −1 −1 published maps and institutional affil- (r = 0.425 d ), finite rate of increase (l = 1.531 d ), net reproductive rate (R0 = 69.65 offspring), and iations. shortest mean generation time (T = 9.964 d) were recorded on the chili pepper plant. Whereas, lower fitness occurred on cabbage. The findings attained from population growth parameters indicate that chili pepper is the most susceptible plant, while cabbage is resistant to aphids. Population projection results also supported this statement, as the final total population size on cabbage was significantly Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. lower than other plants. The reported information would be useful for devising integrated pest Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. management programs, particularly those involving M. persicae. This information also suggests the This article is an open access article adaptability of M. persicae causing economic damage to these vegetable cultivars. distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Keywords: Myzus persicae; age-stage two sex life table; insect-plant interaction; vegetables Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Insects 2021, 12, 375. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12050375 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/insects Insects 2021, 12, 375 2 of 13 1. Introduction Phytophagous insects often feed on a wide range of plant species with different nutritional compositions, chemical defenses, and textures [1]. The adaptation of various host plants through selection pressure by insects’ feeding has led to the evolution of specific host-adapted populations [2]. The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is a polyphagous insect pest feeding on more than 400 species of plants from 40 different families and also vectors about 100 plant viruses [3,4]. Intensive infestation in the field lessens the plant vigor and cause serious damage due to loss of flower buds, weakness, water stress, and a general decline of vegetative growth [5–7]. M. persicae also feeds on vegetables and some ornamental plants, indicating its extensive genetic variation in accordance with host-plant adaptations. The higher adaptability of this pest allows better survival in diverse climatic conditions and on a variety of host plants [8]. Over the past few decades, several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of M. per- sicae on various host plant species [7,9,10]. The selection of genetically resistant or tolerant crops is one of the key components in integrated pest management programs [9,11]. The development of herbivorous insect pests may be directly related to the characteristics of host plants, such as the defensive compounds, nutritional value, and plant’s morphology including leaf pubescence, leaf toughness, presence or absence of trichomes, leaf shape, and color [12]. Defensive mechanisms in plants prolong the development of insect pests, leading to reduced fertility rates [13]. A higher fecundity rate and fast development of an insect pest indicates its fitness on that host plant [14]. Numerous studies have shown that plant species can affect the growth and reproduction of insect herbivores [11,15,16]. The study on insect–plant interaction is of utmost importance to attain high-yielding, high- quality, and aphid-resistant varieties of various plant species. The availability and quality of plant species directly affect the developmental period, fecundity, and survival, and the pest’s population growth rate; thus, a better understanding of these parameters on their host plants is crucial in developing an effective pest control program. Life table theory is one of the most prevailing tools to compare the performance and fitness of pests on their host plant. It is very useful in implementing environment-friendly pest management programs as they reveal the combined effects of many biological param- eters such as survival, fecundity, development, etc. on population growth [16,17]. Life table theory helps to measure the potential population growth of aphids, understanding the population dynamics, and estimation of reproductive growth parameters and insects’ potential [18,19]. This theory also provides the basic knowledge for various additional studies, such as mass rearing, behavioral analysis, and response to control agents, among others. Understanding the life table parameters of aphid on some important plants of the Solanaceae, Asteraceae, and Brassicaceae family can provide important information on developing an effective strategy for suppressing its population. Therefore, we examined the biological parameters of M. persicae on five different host plants according to age-stage, two-sex life table theory [20,21]. The findings of this study would be useful to better understand the survival, reproduction, development, and potential of aphid feeding on these important vegetables and could be helpful in designing future pest management programs for aphid species. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Host Plants Five host plants—cabbage, Brassica oleracea (var. Jing feng yihao); chinese cabbage, B. rapa (var. Zaoshu nan you xiao baicai); crown daisy, Chrysanthemum coronarium (var. Xiao ye tong hao); eggplant, Solanum melongena (var. Guang jiazi hong chang qie); and chili pepper, Capsicum annum (var. Japanese Chao tianjiao)—were used in this study. The seeds were purchased from a local market and were sown in plastic pots. Plants were maintained throughout the experiment using a standard protocol. Twenty-seven plastic pots (10 cm diameter) were employed for each species of plant. The soil in pots consisted of peat moss and perlite substrate in a ratio of 3:1. The plants were kept in a growth Insects 2021, 12, 375 3 of 13 chamber under the controlled conditions in an Intelligent Artificial Climate Box (Ningbo New Jiangnan Instrument Manufacturer Co., LTD., Zhejiang, China) at 25 ± 2 ◦C, 16:8 h light: dark photoperiod and 65–75% RH. Plants with fully developed 2–3 leaves were used to initiate the experiment. 2.2. Aphids A colony of green peach aphid, M. persicae initially taken from the laboratory (Key Lab.