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- Title
Induced responses of Coffea arabica to attack of Coccus viridis stimulate locomotion of the herbivore.
- Authors
Fernandes, Flávio Lemes; Picanço, Marcelo Coutinho; Gontijo, Pablo Costa; de Sena Fernandes, Maria Elisa; Pereira, Eliseu José Guedes; Semeão, Altair Arlindo
- Abstract
The green scale, Coccus viridis (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccidae), is an insect pest of coffee and several other perennial cultivated plant species. We investigated changes in alkaloid and phenolic contents in coffee plants as a response to herbivory by this insect. Greenhouse-grown, 11-month-old coffee plants were artificially infested with the coccid and compared with control, uninfested plants. Leaf samples were taken at 15, 30, 45, and 60 days after infestation, and high-performance liquid chromatography was used to identify and quantify alkaloid and phenolic compounds induced by the coccids at each sampling date. Of the compounds investigated, caffeine was the main coffee alkaloid detected in fully developed leaves, and its concentration in infested plants was twice as high as in the control plants. The main coffee phenolics were caffeic and chlorogenic acid, and a significant increase in their concentrations occurred only in plants infested by C. viridis. A positive and significant relationship was found between alkaloid and phenolic concentrations and the infestation level by adults and nymphs of C. viridis. Caffeine and chlorogenic acid applied on coffee leaves stimulated the locomotory activity of the green scale, thus reducing their feeding compared to untreated leaves. This is the first study to show increased levels of coffee alkaloids and phenolics in response to herbivory by scale insects. The elevation of caffeine and chlorogenic acid levels in coffee leaves because of C. viridis infestation seems to affect this generalist insect by stimulating the locomotion of crawlers.
- Subjects
COFFEE; CITRUS mealybug; HERBIVORES; HEMIPTERA; COCCIDAE
- Publication
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 2011, Vol 139, Issue 2, p120
- ISSN
0013-8703
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1570-7458.2011.01113.x