TY  - THES
T1  - Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations on insects and pathogens of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Triso) and oilseed rape(Brassica napus cv. Campino)
A1  - Oehme,Viktoriya
Y1  - 2013/01/07
N2  - It is suggested that plants, herbivore insects and pathogens will be affected by rising atmospheric CO2. The working hypothesis of this study was that elevated CO2 will affect plant composition and will thus exert influence on plant-insect interactions by changing the nutritive value for insects feeding on phloem sap.
To test this hypothesis, experiments were carried out on wheat and oilseed rape in two different systems: controlled environment chambers (climate chamber system) and an open field exposure system with natural climatic and soil conditions (Mini FACE system).
The abundance of detrimental insects from different feeding guilds and plant damage by parasitic organisms were examined in a Mini FACE system, while the consequences of elevated CO2 on aphid performance and potential correlations to phloem sap composition of host plants were observed in controlled environment chambers. The concentrations of amino acids and carbohydrates in the phloem of host plants were analysed by high?performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), using a fluorescence detector for amino acids and the evaporative light scattering detector for carbohydrates.
In a Mini-FACE system, phenological development of spring wheat and OSR was not significantly changed due to CO2 enrichment. However, elevated CO2 induced changes in plant chemistry (increased carbon:nitrogen ratio and defensive compounds), which resulted in changes in population densities of some pest species. In order to monitor alterations in insect population density, two different methods were applied: direct counts (method 1) and using of yellow sticky traps (method 2). These methods showed both increases and decreases of insect numbers due to elevated CO2, depending on species and on the period of observation.
Concerning plant pathogens, leaves of spring wheat were only slightly and not significantly damaged by Erysiphe graminis, Puccinia striiformis, Puccinia recondita and Septoria tritici during the 2006/2008 years in all treatments. Also the OSR was not significantly damaged by Peronospora parasitica. The frequency and severity of disease infestation on spring wheat and OSR was not significantly impacted by elevated CO2.
In controlled-environment chambers, the phenology, above ground biomass and RGR of OSR were not significantly impacted due to elevated CO2. And although the phenology of spring wheat was not influenced by raised CO2, significant increases were observed for plant above ground biomass and RGR. The aphid presence significantly reduced the aboveground biomass and RGR of spring wheat, while no effects due to aphids were observed in OSR.
High-CO2 treatment differently impacted the performance of aphids. Slight and non-significant increases due to elevated atmospheric CO2 conditions were observed for the aphid relative developmental stages and intrinsic rates of increase, while the weight and RGR were significantly increased for Rhopalosiphum padi and decreased for Myzus persicae.
In order to clear CO2-impacts on the insect performance, phloem sap from host plants was analysed for the composition and concentration of amino acids and carbohydrates.
In summary, although the phenological development of spring wheat and OSR was not affected due to elevated CO2, significant changes were found for the concentration of carbohydrates in the phloem sap of spring wheat and individual amino acids in both host plants. These alterations in plant chemistry affected the performance and abundance of herbivore insects.
KW  - Raps
KW  - Weizen
KW  - Insekten
KW  - Pflanzenkrankheit
CY  - Hohenheim
PB  - Kommunikations-, Informations- und Medienzentrum der Universität Hohenheim
AD  - Garbenstr. 15, 70593 Stuttgart
UR  - http://opus.uni-hohenheim.de/volltexte/2013/797
ER  -