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Age-Dependent Potato Tolerance to Herbivory in Different Nutrient Environments

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Abstract

Tolerance is a type of defense that allows plants to attenuate the negative effects of herbivory. Tolerance has been shown to be context-dependent, contingent on abiotic and biotic factors such as nutrients and plant age. Here, we determine the simultaneous effect of herbivory at different phenological stages and nitrogen regimen on the potato’s ability to tolerate herbivory. We subjected young and blooming plants of two potato varieties to 50% injury by Colorado Potato Beetle in low and high nitrogen environments to determine their effects on tuber yield and plant tolerance. All plants in the high nitrogen treatment expressed higher yield and tolerance compared to those in the low nitrogen treatment. Control plants expressed higher yield than plants in either herbivory treatment. There was a variety by phenological stage of herbivory interaction showing that phenological-based tolerance expression within species is genotype dependent.

Resumen

La tolerancia es un tipo de defensa que le permite a las plantas atenuar los efectos negativos de los herbívoros. Se ha demostrado que la tolerancia es dependiente del contexto, supeditada a factores abióticos y bióticos, como los nutrientes y la edad de la planta. Aquí nosotros determinamos el efecto simultáneo de los herbívoros en diferentes estados fenológicos y el régimen de nitrógeno en la habilidad de la papa para tolerar a los herbívoros. Expusimos plantas jóvenes y en floración de dos variedades de papa al daño en un 50% por el escarabajo de Colorado en ambientes de bajo y alto nitrógeno, para determinar sus efectos en rendimiento de tubérculo y tolerancia de la planta. Todas las plantas del tratamiento con alto nitrógeno expresaron mayor rendimiento y tolerancia en comparación con aquellas del tratamiento con bajo nitrógeno. Las plantas testigo expresaron más alto rendimiento que las incluidas en cualquiera de los tratamientos herbívoros. Hubo interacción entre variedad por etapa fenológica en los herbívoros, mostrando que la expresión de la tolerancia basada en la fenología dentro de las especies es dependiente del genotipo.

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Acknowledgements

This research is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Multistate Hatch Grant under NE1231 and research award number 2014-67013-21659 to K.P and a supplement to this grant for undergraduate research awarded to RW. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NIFA or the USDA. We would like to thank the Cornell University greenhouse staff, especially Melissa Brechner, Trey Ramsey, and Joshua Manser for their help growing the potato plants.

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  1. Etzel Garrido

    Present address: Unidad de Microbiología Básica y Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Av. de las Ciencias S/N, 76230, Juriquilla, Querétaro, Mexico

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Rachele Weintraub, Etzel Garrido & Katja Poveda

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  1. Rachele Weintraub
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  2. Etzel Garrido
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  3. Katja Poveda
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Correspondence to Katja Poveda.

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Weintraub, R., Garrido, E. & Poveda, K. Age-Dependent Potato Tolerance to Herbivory in Different Nutrient Environments. Am. J. Potato Res. 95, 642–649 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-018-9670-0

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