Leafhopper Injury to Legumes

Physiological response of glandular-haired alfalfa to potato leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) injury.

Plant tolerance to herbivory is a key approach for managing pests. In alfalfa, Medicago sativa, the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae, is a major pest as a result of the cascade of plant responses to piercing-sucking injury. To identify tolerance to its injury based on alfalfa physiology, experiments were conducted in the field and greenhouse. In our comparison of the response of field-grown al...

PLANTÐINSECT INTERACTIONS Patterns of Starch Accumulation in Alfalfa Subsequent to Potato Leafhopper (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) Injury

Patterns of starch accumulation in alfalfa,Medicago sativa L., were studied in response to injury causedbypotato leafhopper,Empoasca fabae (Harris).Using image analysis of iodine-stained leaf tissues, we compared lightness scores of leaves from leafhopper-injured and healthy plants sampled at early morning and mid-afternoon. In addition, we related lightness scores to standard chemical analyses...

Breeding to Improve Symbiotic Effectiveness of Legumes

Bacterial‐induced calcium oscillations are common to nitrogen‐fixing associations of nodulating legumes and non‐legumes

Plants that form root-nodule symbioses are within a monophyletic 'nitrogen-fixing' clade and associated signalling processes are shared with the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Central to symbiotic signalling are nuclear-associated oscillations in calcium ions (Ca(2+) ), occurring in the root hairs of several legume species in response to the rhizobial Nod factor signal. In this study we expa...

Spider and Leafhopper (Erythroneura spp.) Response to Vineyard Ground Cover

Ground cover is used in some vineyards to improve soil structure and help manage insect pests; previous studies have shown lower leafhopper (Erythroneura spp.) densities on vines grown with ground cover. We undertook a 2-yr study to determine why ground cover is associated with reduced leafhopper densities. Ground cover consisted of a fall-planted cover crop of purple vetch (Vicia benghalensis)...