Assessing Effects of Ant-Aphid Mutualisms on Grain Sorghum Health
Abstract
Invasive insect pests are known to cause yield loss and economic damage to grain sorghum crops (Sorghum bicolor). This damage can be exacerbated by invasive insect mutualisms, or beneficial interactions. For example, tawny crazy ants (Nylanderia fulva) (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) (TCA)tend sugarcane aphids (Melanaphis sacchari) (Hemiptera:Aphididae) (SCA) for the honeydew or sugary excretion that they produce from feeding on the plant. This tending can reduce plant nutrients, which decreases plant health. Currently, it has not been studied whether the mutualism between TCA and SCA has any effects on grain sorghum health. To access potential plant health effects of this mutualism, potted grain sorghum plants of similar development were evaluated in a greenhouse environment. Plants were evaluated in pairs, with each individual plant having 25 sexually mature SCA and the treatment plants having an addition of 300 TCA workers. Plants were enclosed in individual fine mesh cages and placed inside a Fluon lined bin to prevent the organisms from escaping. Damage was assessed by measuring the dry root weight, change in leaf chlorosis, and change in plant stem diameter after the 14-day experiment. There were no statistically significant differences found in the treatments for dry root weight (P = 0.61), leaf chlorosis (P = 0.37) or stem growth (P = 0.25). Future studies should increase the duration of the experiment to determine potential effects of long-term interactions of TCA and SCA on grain sorghum health. Monitoring and controlling ant-aphid mutualisms may be important for the Integrated Pest Management for this agricultural cropReferences
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