Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) induces systemic resistance against plant diseases and insect herbivores in plants. The impact of single and blends of PGPR strains on plant-insect interactions with a focus on feeding and oviposition behavior of insect herbivores was studied using sweet corn (Zea mays) and corn earworm (CEW) (Helicoverpa zea) as a model system. Sweet corn plants were treated with single and blends of PGPR strains that include Blend 5 consists of PGPR strains AP-209 and AP-136, whereas Blend 8 consists of three strains, AP-136, AP-218, and AP-219, and a single strain, AP-209. The control sweet corn plants were untreated with PGPR. Adult female CEWs laid a significantly low number of eggs on PGPR-treated plants compared to the number of eggs laid on untreated sweet corn plants. Moreover, the leaf area damage inflected by the larvae was higher in untreated corn plants when compared with the PGPR-treated plants. Interestingly, plants treated with blends of PGPR are less preferred than the single-strain treated plants by the adult and larvae. These findings reveal that treating plants with rhizobacteria may induce significant physiological changes with potential ramifications for plant-insect interactions.

植物促生根际细菌 (PGPR) 可诱导植物对植物病害和食草昆虫产生系统抗性。使用甜玉米 ( Zea mays ) 和玉米穗虫 (CEW) ( Helicoverpa zea) 作为模型系统。用单一和混合的 PGPR 菌株处理甜玉米植物，其中混合 5 由 PGPR 菌株 AP-209 和 AP-136 组成，而混合 8 由三个菌株组成，AP-136、AP-218 和 AP-219，以及单一菌株，AP-209。对照甜玉米植物未经 PGPR 处理。与在未经处理的甜玉米植物上产卵的数量相比，成年雌性 CEW 在 PGPR 处理的植物上产卵的数量要少得多。此外，与 PGPR 处理的植物相比，未处理的玉米植物中幼虫造成的叶面积损害更高。有趣的是，用 PGPR 混合物处理的植物不如成虫和幼虫喜欢单一菌株处理的植物。