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Rice is an important staple food in China and it is at risk of attack by rice striped stem borer Chilo suppressalis, which occurs in most rice growing areas. In recent years, severe C. suppressalis outbreaks have been observed in China mainly due to changes in the rice cultivation systems, wide adoption of hybrid varieties and resistance to the dominant insecticides. Management relies primarily on chemical insecticides and resistance is an important contributing factor in these outbreaks. As a result, food safety of agricultural produce is reduced and the ecological and environmental integrities are threatened as well. Recently, environmentally friendly pest management measures, such as trap plants have been introduced for C. suppressalis management and this method can greatly reduce insecticide use. Our previous results indicated that the vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) is a dead-end trap plant that can effectively attract the adult females of C. suppressalis to lay eggs on it but where larvae are unable to complete their life cycle. This paper further explored the application of vetiver grass as a trap plant to manage C. suppressalis in the paddy fields. This environment-friendly tool can not only reduce C. suppressalis populations, it can also increase the diversity and abundance of natural enemies that can provide better environmental conditions for rice production.

Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides L.) was previously found to effectively attract female adults of Chilo suppressalis (Walker), an important pest of rice. To determine the volatile compounds involved in this attraction, electroantennography (EAG) responses to seven synthetic volatiles released from vetiver plants were examined. Our results indicated that the responses of C. suppressalis adult antennae to the different compounds varied widely. The compounds elicited strong EAG responses in female antennae were subsequently selected for further EAG response tests, namely, caryophyllene, β-ocimene, linalool and α-pinene. EAG responses to a combination of these four compounds did not differ significantly from the individual compounds. However, pair combination tests indicated that 0.01 μg μL−1 linalool and 50 μg μL−1 α-pinene, 50 μg μL−1 caryophyllene and 0.01 μg μL−1 linalool, 0.01 μg μL−1 β-ocimene and 0.01 μg μL−1 linalool, and 0.01 μg μL−1 β-ocimene and 50 μg μL−1 caryophyllene elicited significantly greater EAG responses in 3-day female moths compared to the 1-day female. These compound combinations and the corresponding ratios are probably playing an important role in attracting female adults of C. suppressalis to the vetiver grass.

In order to clarify the feasibility of the banker plant system "Leesia sayanuka-Nlilaparvata muiri-Tytthus chinensis" to control rice planthooper, the effects of the combination of rice, L. sa-yanuka, N. lugen and N. muiri on the adult morphology, population growth, oviposition and feeding selectivity of T. chinensis were carried out in the present study. The results showed that the body size of male and female adults of T. chinensis rice population (feeding on N. lugens eggs) were significantly larger than those of T. chinensis population (feeding on N. muiri eggs). Population growth parameters including fecundity, net productive rate, innate capacity for increase, finite rate of increase of L. sayanuka feeding on N. lugens eggs were significantly higher than those of L. sayanuka feeding on N. muiri eggs. However, the population growth ability of L. sayanuka feeding on N. muiri was still high enough to expand the population. For the oviposition selection, both rice population and L. sayanuka population preferred laying eggs on rice than on L. sayanuka. Meanwhile, there was no significant difference in the predation of females, males and nymphs to N. lugens eggs or N. muiri eggs between rice population and L. sayanuka population. At last, based on our results, we discussed the feasibility of establishing the banker plant system "L. sayanuka-N. muiri-T. chinensis" in rice fields.为明确用于防治稻飞虱的“秕谷草-伪褐飞虱-中华淡翅盲蝽”载体植物系统的可行性,本文开展了靶标作物水稻、载体植物秕谷草和靶标害虫褐飞虱、替代猎物伪褐飞虱组合对中华淡翅盲蝽成虫形态、种群增长参数、产卵选择性和取食选择性的影响研究.结果表明: 中华淡翅盲蝽水稻种群(取食褐飞虱卵)的雌雄成虫个体均显著大于秕谷草种群(取食伪褐飞虱卵).取食褐飞虱卵的中华淡翅盲蝽种群增长参数单雌产卵量、净增长率、内禀增长率、周限增长率明显高于取食伪褐飞虱卵的种群,但取食伪褐飞虱卵也有较高的种群增长能力,足以扩繁种群.对于靶标作物水稻和载体植物秕谷草,无论是水稻种群还是秕谷草种群均偏好在水稻上产卵.同时,2个种群的雌虫、雄虫和若虫对褐飞虱卵和伪褐飞虱卵捕食量没有显著性差异.在上述研究基础上,讨论了在田间建立“秕谷草-伪褐飞虱-中华淡翅盲蝽”载体植物系统的可行性.

A population of rice brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens collected from a paddy field in Hangzhou was successively reared on susceptible rice Taichung Native 1 (TN1) in a laboratory free from insecticides for more than 14 generations. The changes in susceptibility to insecticides and ecological fitness on different resistant rice varieties were monitored in each generation. The resistance ratio to imidacloprid sharply declined with the succession of rearing generations without insecticides from 359.94-fold at F1 to 6.50-fold at F14 compared with the susceptible strain, and the resistance ratio to chlorpyrifos was from 9.90-fold at F1 to 5.94-fold at F14. Nymphal duration and weights of newly hatched female adults were significantly affected by rice variety, generation and their interactions, but nymphal survival was significantly affected by the generation only. The ratio of brachypterous adults in males was affected by the generation and generation × variety interaction, whereas no difference was found in females. Nymphal duration extended with increasing generations, and the female nymphal duration was shorter in the susceptible variety TN1 than those in the resistant varieties IR26 and IR36. In addition, the female adult weight in TN1 was higher than those in IR26 and IR36. These results indicated that the resistance of field BPH population to insecticides was reversed after several generations of no-exposure to insecticides, and the ecological fitness in TN1 was higher than those in IR26 and IR36. These findings suggested the rational and reduced use of insecticides in combination with the manipulation of resistant rice varieties would be effective for BPH management.

The structures of bacterial communities in the brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens (Stal) from different geographic and resistant virulent populations were analyzed by using denatured gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Results showed that the bacterial communities in BPH nymph from the first to the fifth instars varied with nymphal growth and development. The bacterial communities in the first-instar BPH nymph were similar to those in adults. Nine geographic BPH populations were divided into three groups based on the cluster analysis of DGGE fingerprint. The first group was from the Philippines; the second group was from Thailand and Hainan, Yunnan and Zhejiang provinces of China; and the third group was from Vietnam and Guangxi, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces of China. BPH populations adapted to different resistant rice varieties. The BPH populations from Mudgo (with resistant gene Bph1) and ASD7 (with resistant gene bph2) differed with those of the susceptible rice variety TN1.

We evaluated the effects of rice black streak dwarf virus (RBSDV)-infested rice plants on the ecological parameters and its relevant defensive and detoxification enzymes of white-backed planthopper (WBPH) in laboratory for exploring the relationship between RBSDV and the non-vector planthopper. The results showed that nymph survival rate, female adult weight and fecundity, and egg hatchability of WBPH fed on RBSDV-infested rice plants did not markedly differ from those on healthy plants, whereas the female adult longevity and egg duration significantly shortened on diseased plants. Furthermore, significantly higher activities of defensive enzymes (dismutase, catalase and peroxidase) and detoxification enzymes (acetylcholinesterase, carboxylesterase and glutathione S-transferase) were found in WBPH adults fed on infected plants. Results implied that infestation by RBSDV increased the ecological fitness of non-vector planthopper population.

The growth and reproduction of rice leaffolder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis, fed on an artificial diet were studied. The results showed that the larvae were able to grow and pupate on the artificial diet. The durations of larvae and pupas of C. medinalis on the artificial diet were 28.1 d and 10.1 d, postponed 4.9 d and 1.7 d respectively, compared with those reared with rice leaves. The number of ovipositions was 41.6 per female, 26.2% higher than that fed on rice leaves. Survival rate curve of larvae was a descent function of mortality-age, with no significant differences from the curve of larvae fed on rice leaves. The net reproductive rate (Ro), intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and finite rate of increase (λ) of the population fed on diet were 17.6928, 0.0884 and 1.0924, respectively, and the mean generation time (T) and double time (td) were prolonged 4.9 d and 1.3 d in comparison with the treatment of rice leaves. Population trend index (I) was 3.26, indicating a growing number of the population of C. medinalis fed on artificial diet.

To investigate the effect of temperature on the resistance characteristics of rice varieties with different resistance genes to brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (St°l), the resistances of IR26 (Bph1) and IR36 (bph2) to BPH population in Hangzhou, China were monitored in greenhouse during September in 2007 and 2008 by using the standard seedling screening techniques (SSST) developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Furthermore, the changes in resistance of IR26 and IR36 to BPH, soluble sugar and oxalic acid contents in 25-day-old rice plants of susceptible variety TN1 and resistant varieties IR26 and IR36 were detected at five temperatures (22°C, 25°C, 28°C, 31°C and 34°C). IR26 completely lost resistance both in greenhouse and at the five tested temperatures. IR36 still had moderate resistance at natural temperature, but its resistance decreased gradually when the temperature increased from 25°C to 34°C, and fully lost its resistance at 31°C and 34°C. The highest durable resistance of IR26 and IR36 were recorded at 25°C. The soluble sugar content in plants of the three tested rice varieties increased with temperature increase, and the oxalic acid content increased with the temperature increase at first, maximized at 25°C, and then declined. Two-way ANOVA indicated significant effects of temperature and rice variety on contents of soluble sugar and oxalic acid in rice plants.

In this study, the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), cultured on Bt rice lines (T1C-19 with cry1C gene and T2A-1 with cry2A gene) and their parental rice MH63, were treated with a series of concentrations of triazophos and deltamethrin when they developed up to the third instar for the evaluation of the effects of Bt rice on BPH resurgence induced by pesticides. The results indicated that BPH nymphal duration decreased with the increasing concentration of deltamethrin, while no significant differences of BPH nymphal duration were observed on the same rice variety treated with the different concentrations of triazophos. Furthermore, the survival rate of BPH significantly declined and their fecundity significantly increased with the increasing concentration of insecticides. However, ecological fitness parameters of BPH including nymphal duration, survival rate, female adult mass, fecundity and egg hatchability were not significantly different among Bt and non-Bt rice varieties when they treated with the same concentration of insecticide. These results implied that no significant difference in the BPH resurgence induced by pesticides was observed among the two tested Bt rice varieties and their non-Bt parental rice variety.

Plant viruses transmitted by arthropods, as an important biotic factor, may not only directly affect the yield and quality of host plants, and development, physiological characteristics and ecological performances of their vector arthropods, but also directly or indirectly affect the non-vector herbivorous arthropods and their natural enemies in the same ecosystem, thereby causing influences to the whole agro-ecosystem. This paper reviewed the progress on the effects of plant viruses on herbivorous arthropods, including vector and non-vector, and their natural enemies, and on their ecological mechanisms to provide a reference for optimizing the management of vector and non-vector arthropod populations and sustainable control of plant viruses in agro-ecosystem.

Rice black streak dwarf virus (RBSDV) is transmitted by the small brown planthopper (SBPH), Laodelphax striatellus (Fallen). Non-vector rice brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), shares the same host rice plants with SBPH in paddy fields. The changes in nutritional composition of rice plants infected by RBSDV and the ecological fitness of BPH feeding on the infected plants were studied under both artificial climate chamber and field conditions. Contents of 16 detected amino acids and soluble sugar in RBSDV infected rice plants were higher than those in the healthy ones. On the diseased plants BPH had significantly higher nymphal survival rates, nymphal duration of the males, weight of the female adults, as well as egg hatchability compared to BPH being fed on healthy plants. However, there was no obvious difference in female nymph duration, longevity and fecundity. Defense enzymes (superoxidase dismutase, SOD and catalase, CAT) and detoxifying enzymes (carboxylesterase, CAE and glutathione S-transferase, GST) in BPH adults fed on diseased plants had markedly higher activities. The results indicate rice plants infected by RBSDV improved the ecological fitness of the brown planthopper, a serious pest but not a transmitter of the RBSDV virus.

Reduction of noncrop habitats, intensive use of pesticides and high levels of disturbance associated with intensive crop production simplify the farming landscape and bring about a sharp decline of biodiversity. This, in turn, weakens the biological control ecosystem service provided by arthropod natural enemies. Strategic use of flowering plants to enhance plant biodiversity in a well-targeted manner can provide natural enemies with food sources and shelter to improve biological control and reduce dependence on chemical pesticides. This article reviews the nutritional value of various types of plant-derived food for natural enemies, possible adverse effects on pest management, and the practical application of flowering plants in orchards, vegetables and field crops, agricultural systems where most research has taken place. Prospects for more effective use of flowering plants to maximize biological control of insect pests in agroecosystem are good but depend up on selection of optimal plant species based on information on the ecological mechanisms by which natural enemies are selectively favored over pest species.

A laboratory study was made on the interactive effects of temperature (20 degrees C, 23 degrees C, 26 degrees C, 29 degrees C, and 32 degrees C) and nitrogen fertilization level (0 and 250 kg x hm(-2)) on the survival, development, and reproduction of brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens. With increasing temperature from 20 degrees C to 29 degrees C, the egg hatchability, nymphal survival, and adult fecundity of BPH increased and the developmental duration of all stages shortened; while at 32 degrees C, it was in adverse. At all test temperatures, the BPH on rice plants treated with 250 kg N x hm(-2) had higher egg hatchability, nymphal survival and adult fecundity, and shorter developmental duration of eggs and nymphs, compared with no nitrogen fertilization, which suggested that high level nitrogen fertilization enhanced the ecological adaptability of BPH to stress conditions. There were significant interactive effects of temperature and nitrogen fertilizer on the egg hatchability, nymphal duration, and adult fecundity of BPH, implying that global warming and long-term high level application of nitrogen fertilizer could be responsible for the outbreaks of BPH in recent years.