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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Charleston, South Carolina » Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #67989
Title: INTEGRATED CASE STUDY: TOBACCO LEAF SURFACE COMPONENTS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON INSECT PESTS AND DISEASES

Author
item Jackson, D
item DANEHOWER, DAVID - NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Journal of Experimental Botany
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/22/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Most of the Nicotiana species have glandular trichomes that produce complex exudates. These cuticular components consist primarily of diterpenes (duvanes and/or labdanes) and/or sugar esters (sucrose esters and glucose esters), which have a variety of biological activities, including allelochemical effects on plants, microorganisms, and insects. Duvane diterpenes and sucrose esters from tobacco, N. tabacum, stimulate the ovipositional behavior of the lepidopteran pests, Heliothis virescens (F.) and Manduca sexta (L.). Volatile components produced by Nicotiana species also affect orientation and alighting behavior of insect pests and beneficials. Duvatrienols and sucrose esters from several Nicotiana species are highly toxic when applied topically to the tobacco aphid, Myzus nicotianae Blackman, the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood), and the silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring. Because pests come in contact with exudates on the leaf surface o Nicotiana species, breeding lines and high levels of these components are being used in tobacco breeding programs. Recent studies have concentrated on developing sugar esters as natural insecticides for control of soft-bodied insects such as whiteflies and aphids. Nicotiana trigonophylla, N. gossei, N. palmeri, and N. glutinosa are good candidates for the production of natural sugar esters for use as bioinsecticides.