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ViewAttendees 3

Section Symposium

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Life is Interesting: Multi-species Interactions Spanning Diverse Kingdoms

Consequences of rhizobial diversity for soybean resistance to herbivory in the context of climate change

Sunday, November 5, 2023
10:54 AM – 11:21 AM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Chesapeake J-K
In-Person
Legumes, particularly soybeans, are among the most important agricultural food crops. However, soybean production can be environmentally costly due to intensive pesticide use, which is expected to rise with climate change and associated alterations in herbivore pest densities. Identifying factors that buffer soybean production against herbivore damage are needed. Soybeans associate with mutualistic, N-fixing rhizobial bacteria. Here we assess the interactive effects of rhizobial diversity and drought on soybean resistance to insect herbivores under field and greenhouse conditions. We find that rhizobial diversity under field conditions is vast and that rhizobial strain identity plays a large role in shaping soybean traits and responses to drought and insect herbivory. We further find that commonly used seed treatments to reduce insect damage have little or no impact on rates of herbivory under field conditions. Together, these results highlight the need to examine the effects of rhizobial diversity in modulating soybean resistance to drought and herbivore pests in a large-scale observational and experimental context.