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ViewAttendees 4

10-Minute Paper

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

P-IE: IPM - Field Crops 1

More than push and pull: Maize-legume companion cropping soil legacies alter maize phytochemistry and resistance to invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Wednesday, November 8, 2023
8:48 AM - 9:00 AM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Maryland 5-6
In-Person

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Daniel Munyao Mutyambai (he/him/his)

    Research Scientist
    International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology
    Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya

    • Co-Author(s)

  • JM

    Johnstone Mutiso Mutua, II

    Master's research fellow
    International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology
    Kasarani, Nairobi Area, Kenya

  • JA

    Jalloh A. Abdul

    International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology
    Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya

  • BN

    Basilio Njiru

    International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology
    Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya

  • Andre Kessler

    Professor
    Cornell University
    Ithaca, New York

  • TD

    Thomas M. Dubois

    International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology
    Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya

  • sM

    samira Mohamed

    International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology
    Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya

  • ZK

    Zeyaur R. Khan

    International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology
    Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya

  • SS

    Sevgan Subramanian

    International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology
    Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya

Crop cultivation practices and soil legacies are intrinsically linked and are hypothesized to influence plant direct and indirect defense against phytophagous insects. In this study, we tested how soils conditioned by maize (Zea mays) - Desmodium spp. -Brachiaria sp. companion cropping (push-pull) or maize monoculture (non-push-pull) affect maize phytochemistry and subsequent resistance to fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). Maize was grown in soils collected from push-pull and monoculture smallholder farmer fields. We compared maize growth, herbivore larval feeding, production of volatile and non-volatile defense secondary metabolites on maize grown in soils conditioned by push-pull and non-push-pull cropping. We also measured behavioral responses of egg-larval parasitoid Chelonus bifoveolatus to maize volatiles from plants grown in soils from both cropping systems as a proxy for indirect defense effects. Maize plants grown in soil from push-pull fields had a higher growth rate compared to those grown in non-push-pull soil. Spodoptera frugiperda neonates fed more leaf tissue from maize plants grown in monoculture conditioned soil than those grown in push-pull conditioned soil. Maize plants grown in soil from push-pull fields produced higher amounts of and qualitatively different volatile and non-volatile secondary metabolites compared to those grown in soil from maize monocultures. Behavioral assays with parasitic wasp C. bifoveolatus showed that female wasps were more attracted to volatiles from maize plants grown in push-pull-conditioned soils than those grown in non-push-pull soils. Our results indicate that conditioning soil with polyculture push-pull cultivation enhances maize growth, alters phytochemistry and subsequent direct and indirect resistance to S. frugiperda.