Feeding behaviour of the aphid Rhopalosiphum padi (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on nitrogen and water-stressed barley (Hordeum vulgare) seedlings.
Electrical penetration graphs (EPGs) were used to examine the probing behaviour of adult apterous Rhopalosiphum padi (Linnaeus) on barley seedlings grown under conditions of nitrogen or water stress. Aphids took significantly longer to reach and ingest from sieve elements of nitrogen-deficient seedlings than from nitrogen-sufficient seedlings but there were no such differences between water-stressed or well-watered seedlings. On both nitrogen and water-stressed seedlings the average length of each individual period of salivation into the sieve element was significantly greater compared with their respective unstressed controls.
School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. k.l.ponder@bham.ac.uk
K L
KL
Ponder
J
J
Pritchard
R
R
Harrington
J S
JS
Bale
D000818:Animals; D001042:Aphids / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D001467:Hordeum / Q000378:metabolism*; D009584:Nitrogen; D012639:Seeds; D014867:Water
D014867:Water; D009584:Nitrogen