title: Nitrogen and water availability to tomato plants triggers bottom-up effects on the leafminer Tuta absoluta.
abstract: This study examined the effects of various levels of nitrogen inputs (optimal, insufficient and excessive) and water inputs (optimal, low drought and high drought) to tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) on survival and development of an invasive tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meytick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Plant growth i.e. plant height and the number of nodes declined under insufficient or excessive nitrogen treatment. Compared to optimal N, insufficient N treatment decreased leaf N content and increased the carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N) whereas an excess of N had no effect on both leaf N content and leaf C/N ratio. Sub-optimal nitrogen supplies, water treatments and their interactions, significantly reduced the leafminer survival rate and slowed down its development. Together with the findings from three recent companion studies, we assumed that a combination of changes in nutritional value and chemical defense could explain these observed effects. Furthermore, our findings supported both the "Plant vigor hypothesis" and the "Nitrogen limitation hypothesis".
authors.affiliation: French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), UMR1355, 400 Route des Chappes, 06903, Sophia-Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: 1] French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), UMR1355, 400 Route des Chappes, 06903, Sophia-Antipolis, France [2] University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis (UNS), UMR1355, 400 Route des Chappes, 06903, Sophia-Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Anne-Violette
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Lavoir
authors.affiliation: French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), UR1115 PSH (Plantes et Systèmes de culture Horticoles), 84000 Avignon, France.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Le Bot
authors.affiliation: French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), UMR1355, 400 Route des Chappes, 06903, Sophia-Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Edwige
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Amiens-Desneux
authors.affiliation: French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), UMR1355, 400 Route des Chappes, 06903, Sophia-Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Desneux
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002244:Carbon; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum; D009036:Moths; D009584:Nitrogen; D018515:Plant Leaves; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen