Electrophysiological and oviposition responses of Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), to compounds rinsed from the surfaces of sugarcane and maize leaves

Abstract

The Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis, is one of the most important pests of maize (Zea mays) in China. However, the mechanism by which intercropping sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and maize controls this pest via compounds rinsed from leaf surfaces is still unclear. Electrophysiological and oviposition responses of the Asian corn borer to compounds rinsed from leaf surfaces of sugarcane and maize were studied. Coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analyses revealed that O. furnacalis responds to 21 compounds, which are present in both the compounds rinsed from leaf surfaces of sugarcane and maize. The effects of these compounds in concentrations of 5 × 10-3 g/mL or 5 × 10-4 g/mL on female oviposition behaviour were tested. They were attracted to oviposit on substrates coated with most of the test compounds, except nonanal. It is suggested that the compounds from the leaf surfaces of sugarcane induced O. furnacalis females to oviposit because most of them are similar to maize's leaf surface compounds, which results in a reduction in the number of egg masses laid on maize leaves.

Keywords

• lepidoptera
• crambidae
• ostrinia furnacalis
• gc-ead
• oviposition
• sugarcane
• maize
• leaf surface