Abstract
Intercropping is drawing increasing attention as a strategy to increase crop yields and manage pest pressure, however the mechanisms of associational resistance in diversified cropping systems remain controversial. We conducted a controlled experiment to assess the impact of co-planting with silverleaf Desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum) on maize secondary metabolism and resistance to herbivory by the spotted stemborer (Chilo partellus). Maize plants were grown either in the same pot with a Desmodium plant or adjacent to it in a separate pot. Our findings indicate that co-planting with Desmodium influences maize secondary metabolism and herbivore resistance through both above and below-ground mechanisms. Maize growing in the same pot with a Desmodium neighbor was less attractive for oviposition by spotted stemborer adults. However, maize exposed only to above-ground Desmodium cues generally showed increased susceptibility to spotted stemborer herbivory (through both increased oviposition and larval consumption). VOC emissions and tissue secondary metabolite titers were also altered in maize plants exposed to Desmodium cues, with stronger effects being observed when maize and Desmodium shared the same pot. Specifically, benzoxazinoids were strongly suppressed in maize roots by direct contact with a Desmodium neighbor while headspace emissions of short-chain aldehydes and alkylbenzenes were increased. These results imply that direct root contact or soil-borne cues play an important role in mediating associational effects on plant resistance in this system.
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Data Availability
Raw data are available on Cornell’s eCommons (https://ecommons.cornell.edu/) data repository under the title of this publication.
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Acknowledgements
We thank smallholder farmers from western Kenya for their interactions and permission to collect soil from their maize farms. We acknowledge Nahashon Okongo, Silas Ouko, and Polycarp Bondo for field assistance; Amos Gadi, Isaac Odera, Daniel Simiyu, Isabella Swyst, and Behram Khan for assistance in insect rearing, screen house operations and laboratory processing of samples. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support for this research by the following organizations and agencies: the Cornell Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future; the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR); the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad); the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; and the Government of the Republic of Kenya. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the donors.
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Funding for this study was provided by an Academic Venture Fund and a Postdoctoral Fellowship Award from the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University. The following organizations and agencies provide financial assistance to the Push–Pull Programme of icipe through various projects: the European Union; the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO); the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD); the Biovision Foundation (Switzerland); the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Government of the Republic of Kenya.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design of the study. Experiments were conducted by DMM. EB analyzed the data and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed to and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Bass, E., Mutyambai, D.M., Midega, C.A.O. et al. Associational Effects of Desmodium Intercropping on Maize Resistance and Secondary Metabolism. J Chem Ecol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-024-01470-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-024-01470-5