Soil nutrition and foliar intervention in Brassica napus (L.) to impair biological fitness of green peach aphid (Myzus persicae Sulzer)

Abstract

Introduction Green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) can reduce yield of canola (Brassica napus) from 35-60% either directly by sap sucking or indirectly by virus transmission. Use of synthetic insecticides is not an ecologically acceptable option.Methods Therefore, effectiveness of different foliar interventions based on salicylic acid-SA and citric acid-CA at 0, 0.5, and 1 mM, and soil nutrition through herbivore-deterrence (silicon-Si and ammonium sulphate-Ams at 25 and 50 kg ha-1) and soil amendments (elemental sulphur-ES, bio sulphur-BS, Cp-Compost, ES+Cp, and BS+Cp) were assessed against different biological fitness parameters of aphid such as aphid development period (days), reproduction time (days), progeny production (No.), immature becoming adults (No), and nymphal survival (%).Results In foliar intervention treatments, 1 mM SA was the most effective treatment followed by 0.5 mM SA and 1 mM CA in reducing aphid biological parameters (10.21 to 71.5%), while in herbivore-deterrence and soil amendments, 50 kg Si (23.5-66.04%) and ES+BS (21.5-42.9%) performed better, respectively.Conclusion These results are important in sustainable management of aphids, improving canola yield, and ensuring global food security. However, deciphering the underlying mechanism of pest resistance in canola should be an important goal of future research.