Mulatu B., Applebaum S.W., Kerem Z., Coll M.
Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization, PO Box 2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Entomology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, PO Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel; Institute of Biochemistry Food Science and Nutrition, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, PO Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Mulatu, B., Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization, PO Box 2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Applebaum, S.W., Department of Entomology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, PO Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel; Kerem, Z., Institute of Biochemistry Food Science and Nutrition, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, PO Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel; Coll, M., Department of Entomology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, PO Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Various physical and chemical properties of host plants influence insect larval performance and subsequent adult fitness. Tomato plants are relatively new hosts to the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller), with the fruit being its preferred feeding site. However, it is unclear how the biochemical and physical properties of tomato fruits relate to potato tuber moth performance. Significant amounts of α-tomatine were detected in maturing green and ripening fruits of cherry (cv. Ceres) and processing (cv. Serio) types of tomatoes whereas none was detected in a fresh market variety (cv. Marglobe), at comparable stages. α-Tomatine is negatively and significantly correlated with development rate (head capsule size) of larvae reared in the fruits of the cherry and processing type tomatoes. Generally, survival, growth and development were significantly superior for larvae reared in the ripening fruits of the fresh market cultivar. At this stage, the fruits of this cultivar are also the largest. Based on these results it is concluded that fruit α-tomatine content, as well as fruit size and maturity, all affect performance of P. operculella larvae in the fruits of cultivated tomatoes. © CAB International, 2006.
tomatine; cultivar; fruit production; growth and development; host plant; larval development; moth; analysis of variance; animal; article; body weight; chemistry; comparative study; drug effect; growth, development and aging; larva; Lepidoptera; parasitology; physiology; survival; tomato; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Body Weight; Larva; Lepidoptera; Lycopersicon esculentum; Survival Analysis; Tomatine; Ceres; Gelechiidae; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Lycopersicon esculentum; Phthorimaea operculella; Solanum tuberosum