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Increased maize growth and P uptake promoted by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi coincide with higher foliar herbivory and larval biomass of the Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda

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Abstract

Most plant species naturally associate with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which are known to promote crop nutrition and health in agroecosystems. However, information on how mycorrhizal associations affect plant biotic interactions that occur aboveground with foliar herbivores is limited and needs to be further addressed for the development of pest management strategies. With the objective to examine the influence of maize mycorrhizas on foliar herbivory caused by larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda, a serious pest in maize agroecosystems, we performed a fully factorial greenhouse pot experiment with three factors: Maize genotype (Puma and Milpal H318), AMF (with and without AMF, and without AMF with mineral P) and Insect herbivory (with and without S. frugiperda). Main results showed that inoculation with AMF improved plant growth and foliar P concentration, which coincided with increased foliar damage from herbivory and higher biomass of S. frugiperda larvae. A significant positive correlation between shoot P concentration and larval biomass was also observed. Finally, foliar herbivory by S. frugiperda slightly increased and decreased AMF root colonization in Puma and H318, respectively. In conclusion, our results show that maize plant benefits from AMF in terms of promotion of growth and nutrition, and may also increase the damage caused from insects by improving the food quality of maize leaves for larval growth, which seems to be linked to increased P uptake by the maize mycorrhizal association.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Biological Sciences Postgraduate program of the National Autonomous University of Mexico for facilitating PhD training for Raúl Omar Real Santillan. We also thank the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) for funding the basic science project 179319. Finally, we extend our gratitude to Maribel Nava Mendoza for excellent technical support for P and N measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, UNAM, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro 8701 Col. Ex-hacienda de San José de La Huerta, C.P. 58190, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Raúl Omar Real-Santillán, Ek del-Val, Hexon Ángel Contreras-Cornejo, Carlos Ernesto González-Esquivel & John Larsen

  2. Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, UNAM, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro 8701 Col. Ex-hacienda de San José de La Huerta, C.P. 58190, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Ek del-Val

  3. Instituto de Ecología, UNAM, Circuito Exterior S/N anexo Jardín Botánico exterior Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04500, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    Rocío Cruz-Ortega

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  1. Raúl Omar Real-Santillán
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  3. Rocío Cruz-Ortega
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Correspondence to John Larsen.

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Real-Santillán, R.O., del-Val, E., Cruz-Ortega, R. et al. Increased maize growth and P uptake promoted by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi coincide with higher foliar herbivory and larval biomass of the Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda. Mycorrhiza 29, 615–622 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-019-00920-3

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