KELADI SHIVAPPA NAYAKA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL AND

HORTICULTURAL SCIENCEES,SHIVAMOGGA
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE,SHIVAMOGGA

INSECT ECOLOGY, PRINCIPLES OF PEST MANAGEMENT

AND NATURAL ENEMIES - AET201(2+1)

ASSIGNMENT TOPIC :IMPORTANCE OF HOST PLANT RESISTANCE

Submitted to:
Dr.JAYALAXMI NARAYAN HEGDE
Department of Entomology
KSNUAHS
SUBMITTED BY,
NOOR FATHIMA
2ND YEAR,2ND SEM
B SECTION
BA1TBZ057
IMPORTANCE OF HOST PLANT RESISTANCE :
Host Plant Selection Process:
Any agro ecosystem is a highly dynamic entity. It consists of different life forms
from the single celled microorganisms to higher plants and animals. All life forms
should mutually interact with each other in order to exchange energy and matter
efficiently. So competition may occur among different organisms, end result of
which will form a basis for their survival. Among this, the relationship between
insects and their host plants will have an important role. Herbivorous insects will
select their host plants based on their quality. Components of host plant quality (such
as carbon, nitrogen, and defensive metabolites) directly affect potential and achieved
herbivore life cycle. The responses of insect herbivores to changes in host plant
quality vary within and between feeding guilds. Host-plant selection byn
phytophagous insects is largely determined by adult insects choosing the
developmental location of offspring. However, immature stages themselves
determine movements between different plant parts such as, roots or shoots or tender
or mature parts, as also movements between adjacent plants. The relationship
between insects and plants is a dynamic one, which may favour either the insect or
the plant. The plant may discourage the insect's attention by various defence
strategies or, sometimes it may also encourage visitations by insects.

Host plant selection is the process by which an insect detects a resource furnishing
plant, within an environment of a magnitude of diversified plant species. Insect
herbivores have been classified as monophagous (single host), oligophagous (few
limited hosts) or polyphagous (many hosts) based on their host specificity. The host
plant selection process in phytophagous insects is usually analysed as a chain of
events (plant stimuli-insect responses) succeeding each other in time and space.

Generally, five phases are described (Kogan, 1994) in Host Plant Selection process
by insects:
Host Habitat finding
Host finding
Host recognition
Host acceptance
Host suitability
Host-Habitat Finding: The first phase of foraging by phytophagous insects is host
habitat finding. The dispersing adult populations have to travel a distance towards
a general host habitat using mechanisms that include anemotaxis, phototaxis,
geotaxis and probably temperature and humidity preference. These mechanisms
have important ecological implications and are of interest in pest management, but
they have little effect on plant resistance. Normally most of the agricultural pests
stay within the general area where crops are planted and hence this phase becomes
less important in host selection. Host Finding: After passing through the dispersal
or migratory phase, the phytophagous insects are behaviourally and physiologically
tuned towards the next spectrum of foraging behavior. The process of finding is a
purposeful search involving behavior that enables the finder to establish and
maintain proximity with its desired habitat and consequently locate its appropriate
host. Long range sensorial mechanisms, probably visual and olfactory bring the
insect to close contact with the plant. The characteristic spectrum of green plants is
in the green-yellow-orange region and this has its counterpart in the maximal
sensitivity of the insect visual pigments which is in the region of 500-580 run.
Several aphid & whitefly species tend to alight on green or yellow surfaces and
larvae of certain beetles are attracted towards vertical patterns. Mobile insects
characteristically fly upwind (positive anemotaxis) toward plant sources of volatile
attractants. Thus grasshoppers and Colorado potato beetle tend to fly upwind
increasing the chances of locating the host. Highly polyphagous insects such as
migratory locust are attracted to patches of vegetation largely by visual stimuli.
However, chemosensory inputs from the characteristic emanations of the green
volatiles of 'growing plants' are important in specific host finding.
Host Recognition: Host recognition is facilitated by specific volatiles, and
oviposition is characteristically triggered by a combination of olfactory and
gustatory inputs. Thus, the female apple maggot fly is attracted to maturing apple
fruits through a combination of visual imaging of orange-red, fruit-sized spheres
together with the emanation of butyl hexanoate and related volatiles from apple
fruits. The onion maggot fly, Delia antique, is attracted to its host plant by the
characteristic odor of propyl disulfide. The cabbage maggot fly, Delia brassicae,
is drawn to allyl isothiocyanate liberated from the glucosinolates characteristic of
the crucifers.
Host Acceptance: Host acceptance is usually determined by test biting or by
ovipositional probing. In the host acceptance process, insect feeding behavior
undergoes three phases such as initiation, continuation and cessation of feeding at
the point of satiation. The presence of phagostimulants is one of the important
mechanism in promoting continuous feeding by the larve of silk worm, Bombyx
mori on Morus spp., in response to morin: by larvae of Catalpa spp, Ceratomia
catalpa, in response to catalposide in leaves of Catalpa spp., and by Chrysolina
spp., beetles that feed on Hypericum spp
Host Suitability: It is determined by the nutritional value of the plant in terms of
sugars, amino acids, lipids, proteins and vitamins and by the absence of deleterious
factors such as toxic compounds. These determine the adequacy of food to sustain
the various physiological processes related to the growth and development of
larvae, and longevity and fecundity of adults. Consideration of all these factors
suggests that true polyphagy is found occasionally. as with migratory locusts and
army worms that devour almost any green vegetation, although there are marked
preferences for different insects.
Influence of Plant Chemicals on Insects:
Plant chemicals which affect behaviour have also been classified into two main
groups. There are those which the insect can utilize as nutrients as well as
behavioural cues, and then there are those which have no apparent nutrient value but
which serve only as sign stimuli, enabling the insect to select the appropriate food
or host-plant. These are known as secondary plant chemicals. Plant odours can
attracts. or repel insects. In either case the volatile plant constituent affects the
orientation of the insect with respect to the plant. It may influence larval or adult
orientation or both. e.g. 3rd instar grass grubs are strongly attracted by the odour of
fresh ryegrass root and that the odour of some legumes is even more attractive but
the exact root volatiles involved was not identified
Host Plant Resistance (HPR):
• Relative amount of heritable qualities possessed by the plants which
influence the ultimate degree of damage done by insects is known as
resistance of plants to insect pests (Painter 1951).
• Insect Resistance comprises the heritable qualities of a plant that
enables it to reduce the degree of insect damage it suffers (Painter
1951).
• Resistance is also expressed by the relative damage to host plant in
comparison to the susceptible host plant (Painter 1968).
• Plant defence against herbivory or host-plant resistance (HPR)
describes a range of adaptations evolved by plants which improve their
survival and reproduction by reducing the impact of herbivores.
• Plants use several strategies to defend against damage caused by
herbivores.
• Cultivars differ in their degree of resistance: extreme resistance to
extreme susceptibility; low, moderate, and high.
• Mechanisms of Resistance:
 These can be two types; ecological resistance and genetic resistance, where
the first one controlled by environment, and the latter controlled by
genetic factors.

ECOLOGICAL RESISTANCE:
• Ecological resistance refers to the biotic and abiotic factors in a recipient
ecosystem. that limit the population growth of an invading species.
• This is also called as apparent resistance
• Non-heritable
• Although there is interest in applying this concept to the management
and restoration of habitats influenced by damaging, invasive species,
practical difficulties in restoring resistance have inhibited its broad-
scale incorporation. Also, some ecologists have argued that resistance
is unimportant in generating landscape pattern casting doubt on its
potential usefulness in large-scale management. Despite temporal and
spatial fluctuations in resistance being the norm, the concept provides a
valuable foundation for a more sustainable approach to long-term pest
management.

1) Phenological Synchrony (Host evasion):

 • The host plant passes through the susceptible stage quickly when insect
populations are low. A crop which is in the field when the insect
populations are low or matures before the insect populations reaches to
high level (damaging levels) shows host evasion. A larva that requires
fruiting structures for normal growth may starve to death on the leaves
of the same host plant. Hence, asynchrony between the stage of the crop
and the stage of the insect lead to escape of the host plant from insect
damage.
• In some crops, it is possible to create discontinuity in the pest's food
supply simply by altering the time of planting or harvesting. This
strategy, often known as phenological asynchrony, allows farmers
to manage their crop so it remains "out of phase" with pest
populations.
Sweet corn, for example, can escape most injury from corn earworms
(Helicoverpa zea) if it is planted in early spring and harvested before
larvae mature. This asynchrony may be created by the early or late
planting of the crop or certain varieties of the crop, depending on the
pest nature and also depending on the endemic or epidemic nature of
the pest.
• Early planted rice crop escapes gall midge damage. This
mechanism called as Pseudo-resistance as described by Painter,
since the plants evade or escape the pest attack due to changes in
environment and other factors, may be susceptible to the pest if
occurs at right time and right stage of the crops.

• Early planting in kharif and late planting in rabi minimizes the pest
infestation on paddy stem borer (Scirpophaga incertulas).
• Early sowing of redgram escapes the pod-fly (Melanagromyza
obtuse) damage,
• Delaying sunhemp sowing till the onset of south-west monsoon
avoids sunhemp hairy caterpillar attack.
• Careful timing of harvest dates in alfalfa can cause high mortality
in populations or alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica) and alfalfa
 caterpillar (Colias eurytheme) by removing edible foliage before
the larvae have completed development.
• Harvest timing is often the most practical method available to
foresters for controlling bark beetle (Scolytidae) infestations in pine
plantations.
2). Induced resistance:

• Changes in plants following damage or stress or are called induced

response and these changes can increase the resistance to herbivore
attack by reducing the preference for.
• Some environmental conditions, like soil fertility and disease
infections, temporarily increase the level of resistance of the host
plant species, by altering the physiology the host plant.
• Normal cultural practices such as fertilization and irrigation may
cause drastic qualitative and quantitative changes in the host plant,
and hence the response of the host plant varies to the pest attack or
vice-versa.
• Phytophagous insects are very sensitive to nutritional changes in
the host plant. These changes results from fertilizers, absorbed
through roots. Similarly, foliar application of some mineral
nutrients and even certain insecticides has also been shown to
influence the nutritional value of the host plants.
• Regular rainfall (or overhead irrigation) can significantly reduce
infestations of two spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) in
tree fruits.
• For paddy cutworms, paddy swarming caters pillars, ragi
cutworms, flooding the fields float these caterpillars leaving the
plants.
• Good irrigation keeps plants healthy, vigorous, and more resistant
to insect injury.
• Draining the paddy fields can reduce BPH populations, and also
paddy caseworm which travel one plant to other through water.
• It is not unusual for small amounts of injury to actually stimulate
compensatory growth in healthy plants.
 • At high nitrogen, insects usually respond with an increase in
survival and faster rate of development.
• High nitrogen favour survival of aphids, while potash influence
negatively.

• Over dose of nitrogen application leads to stem borer attack in

paddy, sucking pests in cotton, chilli etc.
• Root weevil attack in rice can minimized through application on
20kg ammonium phosphate and 40kg super phosphate/ha.
• Many plants react to disease infections by producing and concentrating
phenolic compounds such as phytoalexins (which offer resistance
against disease by killing tissues around infected zone).

3). Escape;
1. A particular host plant is neither infested nor injured despite of local
presence of insect pest.
2. Leaving gaps-Alley Ways of 0.5m for every 5m width in paddy
fields increases the aeration and light, and BPH (Brown Plant
Hopper-Nilaparvatha lugens) incidence come down under highly
aerated conditions.
3. Trash/mulching / earthing up at month after planting of sugarcane
reduces early stem borer (Chilo infuscatellus) attack in sugar cane.
Trap crops: Pests are strongly attracted to certain plants. When these plants
are sown in the main field or along the borders, the pests gather on them.
Raising trap crops as inter and/or border crops is an important cropping
system approach. The trap crop distinctly attractive to the pest when compared
to the main crop. It provides protection either by preventing the pest from
reaching the main crop or by restricting them to certain part of the field where
they can be economically destroyed. Generally, these trap crops are planted
on the borders of main crop.
• Mustard along with cabbage is a trap crop for the control of the
Diamond Back Moth, aphids and the Leaf Webber.
• African marigold @ 1()() plants/acre, in cotton / chilli / tomato is a
good trap crop for the Helicoverpa armigera, besides it also attracts
 the adult of leaf miner which lay eggs on its leaves. Similarly,
planting Hibiscus @ 49/208 cotton also attracts insect pests.
• Castor is a good trap crop for tobacco cater pillar (Spodoptera litura)
in chilli cotton/ tomato etc.
• Maize plants can be a trap crop to attract fruit fly adults in vegetable
cultivation where the fruit fly (Bactrocera cucurbiate) is a major
problem.
• Tomato is a good trap crop in citrus for fruit sucking moths
(Othereis materna)
Inter cropping (also known as mixed cropping) is another way to reduce
pest populations by increasing environmental diversity. In some cases,
intercropping lowers the overall attractiveness of the environment, as
when host and non-host plants are mixed together in a single planting.
But in other cases, intercropping may concentrate the pest in a smaller,
more manageable area so it can be controlled by some other tactic.
• Inter-cropping Cowpea with Sorghum can attract polyphagous insect
pests on to sorghum which is less value crop.
• Cotton system is ideally suitable for intercropping because of the
relatively longer duration and its slow growth in the initial stages.
The common practice of cotton cultivation is inter or mixed
cropping with pulses which reduces the sucking pest complex on
cotton. Similarly, planting of few rows of sorghum or maize in
cotton reduces insect pest population due to disturbance of host
selection process of insects.
• Intercropping of Pigeonpea in Sunflower crop @ 1:2 reduces Bihar

Hairy Caterpillar Spilosoma oblique attack.

Resistance based on Mechanisms:
Mechanisms of Genetic resistance have been grouped in to three cetegories by
Painter (1951). Nonpreference or Antixenosis and Antibiosis refers to the
response of the insect to the plant; tolerance refers to the response of the plant
to the insect.
(I) Nonpreference or Antixenosis:
• Non-preferred plants lack the characteristics of the hosts for insect
feeding, oviposition and shelter. Non-preference pertains to the insect
rather than the host plant, and is not parallel to antibiosis.
• Kogan and Ortman (1978) proposed the term Antixenosis for
nonpreference.
• Antixenosis (against the guest) means the plant is considered to be a
bad host.
• The nonpreference may be due to morphologicalfactors or
chemical factors in bad hosts.
 (a) Morphological Antixenosis or Nonpreference: Some morphological
structural plant features stop or prevent the normal feeding or
oviposition by the herbivore.
For example: Leaf hoppers unable to establish on plants with epidermis
covered with thick layer of long cellulose hairs. Similarly, presence of
trichomes, and hard woody stems contribute resistance to plants.
(b) Chemical Antixenosis or Nonpreference: When two or more
alternative foods are offered for phytophagous insects, they usually
show a consistence pattern of preference or nonpreference. In adequate
hosts are totally rejected, and some species starve to death on a diet
that lack proper stimuli. Usually feeding preference of immature forms
and oviposition preferences of adult forms coincides, but not always.

For example: Ratna and TKM6 are resistant to paddy stem borer due to
presence of high silica content which is not preferred for feeding.

(2) Antibiosis:
• Antibiosis means, adverse effects on the biology (survival, development
and reproduction) of the insect.
• Adverse physiological effects of a temporary or permanent nature
resulting from the ingestion (with some chemicals) of plant by insect.
The possible explanations for the effects on insects are due to:
1. Presence of toxic metabolites (alkaloids, glucosides, quinones)
2. Absence or insufficiency of essential nutrients
3. Unbalanced proposition of nutrients
4. Presence of anti-metabolites that render some essential nutrients
unavailable
5. Presence of enzymes that inhibit normal process of food digestion, and
consequently utilization of nutrients.
6. Presence of chemicals that inhibit physiological processes.

• Insects show following symptoms when they feed on resistant variety

antibiotic properties:
 Death of larva
Abnormal growth rate
Abnormal conversion of digested food
Failure to pupate
Failure to emerge adults from pupa
Malformed pupa
Malformed adults
Decreased fecundity
Reduced fertility
Failure to concentrate food reserves followed by unsuccessful
hibernation and other irregular behavior
• Young females of BPH feeding on Mudgo (rice variety) had under
developed ovaries and contained few matured eggs. This is due to
reduced asparagine content of resistance rice.
• Very young corn (maize) plants are highly resistant to European
corn borer Heliothis zea establishment and survival. This is due to
high concentration of DIMBOA (a glycoside) [2,4-dihydroxy-7-
methoxy-2H-l,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one]
• Transgenic cultivars having delta-endotoxin shows Anti-biosis
type of insect resistance against target insect pests.

Tolerance;
A tolerant plant can produce good yield even while it supports and insect
population that would severely damage and decrease the yield of a non-
tolerant plant.
• It is the capacity of certain plants to repair injury or grow to produce
an adequate yield despite supporting an insect population at a level
capable of damaging a more susceptible host.
• Tolerance results from one or more of the factors like general
vigour of Plants ,Regrowth of balanced tissue and the following,
 Strength of stems and resistance to lodging
Production of additional branches
Utilization of non-vital plant parts by an insect
Lateral compensation by neighbouring plants
Transgenic plants
• Genetically modified plants are plants whose DNA is modified
using genetic engineering techniques. In most cases the aim is to
introduce a new trait to the plane which does not occur naturally in
this species. Examples include resistance to certain pests, diseases
or environmental conditions, or the production of a certain nutrient
or pharmaceutical agent.
• A transgenic crop plant contains a gene or genes which have been
artificially inserted instead of the plant acquiring them through
pollination. The inserted gene sequence (known as the transgene)
may come from another unrelated plant, or from a completely
different species: transgenic Bt corn, for example, which produces
its own insecticide, contains a gene from a bacterium. Plants
containing transgenes are often called genetically modified or GM
crops, although in reality all crops have been genetically modified
from their original wild state by domestication, selection and
controlled breeding over long periods of time.
• The first field trials of genetically engineered plants occurred in
France and the USA in 1986 when tobacco plants were engineered
to be resistant to herbicides. In 1987 Plant Genetic Systems, was the
(Belgium based) first company to develop genetically engineered
(tobacco) plants with insect tolerance by expressing genes encoding
for insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
• Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt is a naturally occurring soil bacterium
used by farmers to control Lepidopteran insects because of a toxin
it produces. Through genetic engineering, scientists have
introduced the gene responsible for making the toxin into a range
of crops, including cotton. Bt expresses the qualities of the
 insecticidal gene throughout the growing cycle of the plant. Cotton
crops are very susceptible to pest
attacks and use up more than 10% of the world's pesticides and over 25%
of insecticides.
• Given the high chemical dependence of the cotton crop, cotton was one
of the first crops to be genetically engineered by the US-based
agrochemical multinational Monsanto, whose transgenic Bollgard (Bt)
cottonseed varieties were a big draw among farmers the world over. Bt
cotton, with its promise of reduced insecticide use and resistance to pest
attacks - leading consequently to a rise in yields with lower costs - is
being pushed by the multinational as an environmentally safe and cost-
effective alternative to conventional cotton seeds.
• But the Bt toxin targets only the bollworm complex, comprising the
American bollworm, the Spotted bollworm, the Spiny bollworm and
the Pink Bollworm. The Bt toxin CryIAc, approved for
commercialisation, is particularly specific to American Bollworm,
which attacks the plant after 60 days of sowing. The Pink bollworm
attacks the plant after 130 days of sowing - the time of the first pick.
While Cry I Ac has only a moderate effect on the Pink bollworm, none
of the Mahyco hybrids has any impact on pests such as Thrips, Aphids
and Jassids, which attack the plant during its early phase. Thus, while
the number of sprays against the bollworm could come down, there
may not be a reduction in the use of pesticides against the other pests.
• India made its entry into commercial agricultural biotechnology in
March 2002 with the approval of three Bt-cotton hybrids for
commercial cultivation, and these were marketed by Mahyco-
Monsanto Biotech Limited (MMB), a joint venture of Mahyco and
Monsanto. Realizing the potential of Bt-cotton, more Indian seed
companies have shown interest in this technology and by 2010-end
about 26 companies have sub-licensees of MMB.
• In 2002, Bt cotton area in India is 72,000 acres (0.3% of total cotton
area), by 2007 more than 66% of cotton area is with Bt cotton, and now
almost all the cotton area is sown with Bt cotton.
• Bt cotton companies involved in Bt crops production based on Cry 1Ac
are Mahyco seed Ltd, pro agro seeds, bio seeds etc...
 Reference books:
• Integrated Pest Management-Concepts and Approaches: Dhwaliwal GS and
Ramesh Arora (2001), Kalyanai Publishers, Ludhiana.
• Integrated Insect Pest Management; Venugopala Rao N, Umamaheswari T,
Rajendraprasad P Naidu VG and Savitri P (2004), Agrobios (India) Limited,
Jodhpur.
• Integrated Pest Management and Biocontrol; Dwivedi SC, Dwivedi Nalini
(2006), Estern Book Corporation, Kolkata
• Wikipedia.....