Journal
BIOCONTROL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Volume 21, Issue 10, Pages 1147-1160Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2011.606559
Keywords
host specificity; biosecurity; sunflower; Ophraella communa; Ambrosia artemisiifolia; biological control
Categories
Funding
- National Basic Research and Development Program of China [2009CB119200]
- National Key Technologies Research and Development Program of China [2006BAD08A18]
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Ophraella communa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), originally from North America, has been used for biological control of common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, in China since 2007. However, there is still a debate on whether O. communa can attack sunflowers under field conditions. To re-evaluate the biosecurity of O. communa against sunflower (Helianthus annuus), we investigated the population density of O. communa on three sunflower varieties that were intercropped with or planted in circumambience of A. artemisiifolia under field conditions. Our results showed that only very few O. communa eggs (<0.5 eggs/plant) were found on sunflower plants at the last two surveys when sunflowers were planted in circumambience of common ragweed. O. communa eggs were not found on sunflower plants at each survey when sunflowers were intercropped with common ragweed. The first-second instar larvae, third instar larvae, pupae and adults of O. communa were occasionally found on sunflower plants, but their densities were very low under either case of planting patterns. Based on these results, we conclude that sunflower is not a potential host plant for O. communa and the beetle is an effective host-specific biological control agent of common ragweed.
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