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Feeding preferences of woodpigeons and flea‐beetles for oilseed rape and turnip rape
Author(s) -
LAMBDON P W,
HASSALL M.,
MITHEN R.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
annals of applied biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1744-7348
pISSN - 0003-4746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7348.1998.tb05833.x
Subject(s) - biology , flea beetle , brassica rapa , brassica , glucosinolate , palatability , cultivar , sawfly , flea , herbivore , brassicaceae , agronomy , botany , larva , zoology , food science
Summary. Winter turnip rape Brassica rapa ssp. oleifera was shown to have reduced palatability to woodpigeons, enhanced susceptibility to adult flea beetle feeding and reduced susceptibility to larval flea‐beetle infection when compared with winter oilseed rape (B. napus) cultivars in field trials. Levels of leaf waxes were negatively correlated with feeding preferences of adult flea beetles. Analysis of volatiles from damaged leaves showed that while all cultivars produce a similar range of nitriles, cyanoepithioalkanes and isothiocyanates, derived from 3‐butenyl, 4‐pentenyl and phenylethyl glucosinolates, B. rapa leaves produced relatively high levels of 1‐methylpropyl isothiocyanate, although there was significant plant‐to‐plant variation. The possible involvement of this mustard oil glycoside and variation in epicuticular waxes in plant‐herbivore interactions are discussed.