Precipitation change accentuates or reverses temperature effects on aphid dispersal.

Global temperatures are generally increasing, and this is leading to a well documented advancement and extension of seasonal activity of many pest insects. Effects of changing precipitation have received less attention, but might be complex because rain and snow are increasing in some places but decreasing in others. This raises the possibility that altered precipitation could accentuate, or even reverse, the effects of rising temperatures on pest outbreaks. We used >592 K aphid suction-trap captures over 15 years, in the heavily farmed central USA, to examine how the activity of Aphis glycines (soybean aphid), Rhopalosiphum maidis (corn aphid), and Rhopalosiphum padi (bird cherry-oat aphid) changed with variation in both temperature and precipitation. Increasing precipitation caused late-season flight activity of A. glycines and early-season activity of R. padi to shift earlier, while increasing temperature did the same for early-season activity of A. glycines and R. maidis. In these cases, precipitation and temperature exhibited directionally similar, but independent, effects. However, precipitation sometimes mediated temperature effects in complex ways. At relatively low temperatures, greater precipitation generally caused late-season flights of R. maidis to occur earlier. However, this pattern was reversed at higher temperatures with precipitation delaying late-season activity. In contrast, greater precipitation delayed peak flights of R. padi at lower temperatures, but caused them to occur earlier at higher temperatures. So, in these two cases the interactive effects of precipitation on temperature were mirror images of one another. When projecting future aphid flight phenology, models that excluded precipitation covariates consistently underpredicted the degree of phenological advance for A. glycines and R. padi, and underpredicted the degree of phenological delay for R. maidis under expected future climates. Overall, we found broad evidence that changing patterns of aphid flight phenology could only be understood by considering both temperature and precipitation changes. In our study region, temperature and precipitation are expected to increase in tandem, but these correlations will be reversed elsewhere. This reinforces the need to include both main and interactive effects of precipitation and temperature when seeking to accurately predict how pest pressure will change with a changing climate.

Complex life histories predispose aphids to recent abundance declines.

Many animals change feeding habits as they progress through life stages, exploiting resources that vary in space and time. However, complex life histories may bring new risks if rapid environmental change disrupts the timing of these switches. Here, we use abundance times series for a diverse group of herbivorous insects, aphids, to search for trait and environmental characteristics associated with declines. Our meta dataset spanned three world regions and >300 aphid species, tracked at 75 individual sites for 10-50 years. Abundances were generally falling, with median changes of -8.3%, -5.6%, and -0.1% per year in the central USA, northwestern USA, and United Kingdom, respectively. Aphids that obligately alternated between host plants annually and those that were agricultural pests exhibited the steepest declines, relative to species able to persist on the same host plant year-round or those in natural areas. This suggests that host alternation might expose aphids to climate-induced phenology mismatches with one or more of their host plant species, with additional risks from exposure to insecticides and other management efforts. Warming temperatures through time were associated with milder aphid declines or even abundance increases, particularly at higher latitudes. Altogether, while a warming world appeared to benefit some aphid species in some places, most aphid species that had time-sensitive movements among multiple host plants seemed to face greater risk of decline. More generally, this suggests that recent human-induced rapid environmental change is rebalancing the risks and rewards associated with complex life histories.

Maize Iranian mosaic virus (family Rhabdoviridae) improves biological traits of its vector Laodelphax striatellus.

Plant viruses can alter the behavior or performance of their arthropod vectors, either indirectly (through effects of virus infection on the host plant) or directly (from virus acquisition by the vector). Given the diversity of plant viruses and their arthropod vectors, the effects for any specific system are not possible to predict. Here, we present experimental evidence that acquisition of maize Iranian mosaic virus (MIMV, genus Nucleorhabdovirus, family Rhabdoviridae) modifies the biological traits of its insect vector, the small brown planthopper (SBPH) Laodelphax striatellus. MIMV is an economically important virus of maize and several other grass species. It is transmitted by SBPHs in a persistent-propagative manner. We evaluated the effects of MIMV acquisition by SBPH on its life history when reared on healthy barley plants (Hordeum vulgare). We conclude that 1) MIMV acquisition by SBPHs increases female fecundity, duration of the nymph stage, adult longevity, and survival of SBPHs, (2) the mortality rate and female-to-male sex ratio are reduced in MIMV-infected planthoppers, and (3) MIMV infection increases the concentration of some biochemical components of the infected plants, including carbohydrates, some amino acids, and total protein, which might influence the life traits of its insect vector. The results indicate the potential of MIMV to improve the ecological fitness of its vector, SBPH, through direct or indirect effects, with the potential to increase the spread of the virus.

Plant-mediated interactions between a vector and a non-vector herbivore promote the spread of a plant virus.

Herbivores that transmit plant pathogens often share hosts with non-vector herbivores. These co-occurring herbivores can affect vector fitness and behaviour through competition and by altering host plant quality. However, few studies have examined how such interactions may both directly and indirectly influence the spread of a plant pathogen. Here, we conducted field and greenhouse trials to assess whether a defoliating herbivore (Sitona lineatus) mediated the spread of a plant pathogen, Pea enation mosaic virus (PEMV), by affecting the fitness and behaviour of Acrythosiphon pisum, the PEMV vector. We observed higher rates of PEMV spread when infectious A. pisum individuals shared hosts with S. lineatus individuals. Using structural equation models, we showed that herbivory from S. lineatus increased A. pisum fitness, which stimulated vector movement and PEMV spread. Moreover, plant susceptibility to PEMV was indirectly enhanced by S. lineatus, which displaced A. pisum individuals to the most susceptible parts of the plant. Subsequent analyses of plant defence genes revealed considerable differences in plant phytohormones associated with anti-herbivore and anti-pathogen defence when S. lineatus was present. Given that vectors interact with non-vector herbivores in natural and managed ecosystems, characterizing how such interactions affect pathogens would greatly enhance our understanding of disease ecology.

Insect-Borne Plant Pathogens and Their Vectors: Ecology, Evolution, and Complex Interactions.

The transmission of insect-borne plant pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, phytoplasmas, and fungi depends upon the abundance and behavior of their vectors. These pathogens should therefore be selected to influence their vectors to enhance their transmission, either indirectly, through the infected host plant, or directly, after acquisition of the pathogen by the vector. Accumulating evidence provides partial support for the occurrence of vector manipulation by plant pathogens, especially for plant viruses, for which a theoretical framework can explain patterns in the specific effects on vector behavior and performance depending on their modes of transmission. The variability in effects of pathogens on their vectors, however, suggests inconsistency in the occurrence of vector manipulation but also may reflect incomplete information about these systems. For example, manipulation can occur through combinations of specific effects, including direct and indirect effects on performance and behavior, and dynamics in those effects with disease progression or pathogen acquisition that together constitute syndromes that promote pathogen spread. Deciphering the prevalence and forms of vector manipulation by plant pathogens remains a compelling field of inquiry, but gaps and opportunities to advance it remain. A proposed research agenda includes examining vector manipulation syndromes comprehensively within pathosystems, expanding the taxonomic and genetic breadth of the systems studied, evaluating dynamic effects that occur during disease progression, incorporating the influence of biotic and abiotic environmental factors, evaluating the effectiveness of putative manipulation syndromes under field conditions, deciphering chemical and molecular mechanisms whereby pathogens can influence vectors, expanding the use of evolutionary and epidemiological models, and seeking opportunities to exploit these effects to improve management of insect-borne, economically important plant pathogens. We expect this field to remain vibrant and productive in its own right and as part of a wider inquiry concerning host and vector manipulation by plant and animal pathogens and parasites.

Dual-guild herbivory disrupts predator-prey interactions in the field.

Plant defenses often mediate whether competing chewing and sucking herbivores indirectly benefit or harm one another. Dual-guild herbivory also can muddle plant signals used by specialist natural enemies to locate prey, further complicating the net impact of herbivore-herbivore interactions in naturally diverse settings. While dual-guild herbivore communities are common in nature, consequences for top-down processes are unclear, as chemically mediated tri-trophic interactions are rarely evaluated in field environments. Combining observational and experimental approaches in the open field, we test a prediction that chewing herbivores interfere with top-down suppression of phloem feeders on Brassica oleracea across broad landscapes. In a two-year survey of 52 working farm sites, we found that parasitoid and aphid densities on broccoli plants positively correlated at farms where aphids and caterpillars rarely co-occurred, but this relationship disappeared at farms where caterpillars commonly co-occurred. In a follow-up experiment, we compared single and dual-guild herbivore communities at four local farm sites and found that caterpillars (P. rapae) caused a 30% reduction in aphid parasitism (primarily by Diaeretiella rapae), and increased aphid colony (Brevicoryne brassicae) growth at some sites. Notably, in the absence of predators, caterpillars indirectly suppressed, rather than enhanced, aphid growth. Amid considerable ecological noise, our study reveals a pattern of apparent commensalism: herbivore-herbivore facilitation via relaxed top-down suppression. This work suggests that enemy-mediated apparent commensalism may override constraints to growth induced by competing herbivores in field environments, and emphasizes the value of placing chemically mediated interactions within their broader environmental and community contexts.

A global synthesis of the effects of diversified farming systems on arthropod diversity within fields and across agricultural landscapes.

Agricultural intensification is a leading cause of global biodiversity loss, which can reduce the provisioning of ecosystem services in managed ecosystems. Organic farming and plant diversification are farm management schemes that may mitigate potential ecological harm by increasing species richness and boosting related ecosystem services to agroecosystems. What remains unclear is the extent to which farm management schemes affect biodiversity components other than species richness, and whether impacts differ across spatial scales and landscape contexts. Using a global metadataset, we quantified the effects of organic farming and plant diversification on abundance, local diversity (communities within fields), and regional diversity (communities across fields) of arthropod pollinators, predators, herbivores, and detritivores. Both organic farming and higher in-field plant diversity enhanced arthropod abundance, particularly for rare taxa. This resulted in increased richness but decreased evenness. While these responses were stronger at local relative to regional scales, richness and abundance increased at both scales, and richness on farms embedded in complex relative to simple landscapes. Overall, both organic farming and in-field plant diversification exerted the strongest effects on pollinators and predators, suggesting these management schemes can facilitate ecosystem service providers without augmenting herbivore (pest) populations. Our results suggest that organic farming and plant diversification promote diverse arthropod metacommunities that may provide temporal and spatial stability of ecosystem service provisioning. Conserving diverse plant and arthropod communities in farming systems therefore requires sustainable practices that operate both within fields and across landscapes.

Responses of Aphid Vectors of Potato leaf roll virus to Potato Varieties.

Potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) can reduce tuber yield and quality in potato. Green peach aphid (Myzus persicae [Sulzer]) and potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae [Thomas]) are the two most important potato-colonizing PLRV vectors in the Pacific Northwest. We compared My. persicae and Ma. euphorbiae densities and PLRV incidences among potato varieties in the field to clarify the relationships between aphid abundance and PLRV incidence in plants. Aphids were sampled weekly over three years in the potato varieties Russet Burbank, Ranger Russet, and Russet Norkotah in a replicated field trial. In all years, My. persicae was more abundant than Ma. euphorbiae, representing at least 97% of samples. My. persicae densities did not differ among potato varieties across years; very low numbers of Ma. euphorbiae precluded such statistical comparisons for this species. PLRV infection did not differ significantly among potato varieties, although the percent of PLRV-infected plants differed among years when all varieties were combined (46% in 2013, 29% in 2011, 13% in 2012). For Ranger Russet and Russet Norkotah, PLRV incidence was positively correlated with aphid abundance as well as proportion of PLRV-positive aphids. In Russet Burbank, only aphid abundance was positively correlated with PLRV infection. Our results suggest that the three most commonly grown potato varieties in our region do not differ in their susceptibility to PLRV infection, and that aphid density was a consistent indicator of the risk of infection by this virus across varieties. Both of these findings can be used to hone PLRV monitoring and modeling efforts.

Aggregation Behavior and a Putative Aggregation Pheromone in Sugar Beet Root Maggot Flies (Diptera: Ulidiidae).

Male-biased aggregations of sugar beet root maggot, Tetanops myopaeformis (Röder) (Diptera: Ulidiidae), flies were observed on utility poles near sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L. [Chenopodiaceae]) fields in southern Idaho; this contrasts with the approximately equal sex ratio typically observed within fields. Peak observation of mating pairs coincided with peak diurnal abundance of flies. Volatiles released by individual male and female flies were sampled from 08:00 to 24:00 hours in the laboratory using solid-phase microextraction and analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Eleven compounds were uniquely detected from males. Three of these compounds (2-undecanol, 2-decanol, and sec-nonyl acetate) were detected in greater quantities during 12:00-24:00 hours than during 08:00-12:00 hours. The remaining eight compounds uniquely detected from males did not exhibit temporal trends in release. Both sexes produced 2-nonanol, but males produced substantially higher (ca. 80-fold) concentrations of this compound than females, again peaking after 12:00 hours. The temporal synchrony among male aggregation behavior, peak mating rates, and release of certain volatile compounds by males suggest that T. myopaeformis flies exhibit lekking behavior and produce an associated pheromone. Field assays using synthetic blends of the putative aggregation pheromone showed evidence of attraction in both females and males.

Evidence for Bombus occidentalis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Populations in the Olympic Peninsula, the Palouse Prairie, and Forests of Northern Idaho.

Since the mid-1990s, Bombus occidentalis (Green) has declined from being one of the most common to one of the rarest bumble bee species in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Although its conservation status is unresolved, a petition to list this species as endangered or threatened was recently submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. To shed light on the conservation situation and inform the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision, we report on the detection and abundance of B. occidentalis following bumble bee collection between 2012 and 2014 across the Pacific Northwest. Collection occurred from the San Juan Islands and Olympic peninsula east to northern Idaho and northeastern Oregon, excluding the arid region in central Washington. B. occidentalis was observed at 23 collection sites out of a total of 234. With the exception of three sites on the Olympic peninsula, all of these were in the southeastern portion of the collection range.

Non-destructive environmental safety assessment of threatened and endangered plants in weed biological control.

Assessing the risk of nontarget attack (NTA) for federally listed threatened and endangered (T&E) plant species confamilial to invasive plants targeted for classical biological control, is one of the most important objectives of pre-release environmental safety assessments in the United States. However, evaluating potential NTA on T&E species is often complicated by restrictive agency requirements for obtaining propagules, or the ability to propagate plants and rear agents to the appropriate phenostages synchronously for testing, or both. Here, we assessed whether plant cues associated with a host recognition can be used for testing the attractiveness of four T&E and one rare single population plant species non-destructively for a candidate biocontrol agent. We used the seed-feeding weevil, Mogulones borraginis, a candidate for the biological control of the invasive plant, Cynoglossum officinale (Boraginaceae) as the study system. We collected olfactory and visual cues in the form of flowering sprigs from T&E plant species confamilial to the invasive plant in a non-destructive manner and used them to measure behavioral responses and searching time of weevils. Female weevils preferred C. officinale to all tested plant species in dual-choice bioassays using either olfactory or visual cues in a modified y-tube device. Furthermore, female weevils were repelled by the combined olfactory and visual cues from all tested T&E plant species in a dual-choice test against controls (e.g., purified air in an empty arm), indicating that it would be extremely unlikely for the weevil to attack any of these species upon release in the United States. Principal component analysis based on 61 volatile organic compounds effectively separated the five confamilial plant species and C. officinale, corroborating the results of behavioral bioassays. We conclude that studies on pre-alighting host selection behavior and the underlying physiological mechanisms of how organisms select host plants they exploit can aid in environmental safety testing of weed biological control agents.

Derivation and validation of a binomial sequential decision plan for managing pea aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) as direct pests of dry pea (Fabales: Fabaceae) in the Pacific Northwest.

We developed a binomial sequential decision plan that classifies the economic status of nonviruliferous pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), in commercial dry peas, Pisum sativum L. (Fabales: Fabaceae), in the Palouse region of northern Idaho and eastern Washington state. Relationships between mean pea aphid density per plant (x) and the proportion of aphid-infested plants (Pi) were determined by in situ visual counts of 100 plants on each of 27 seasonal dates during 2011 from early vegetative plant growth (stage V105) to late reproductive growth (stage R207) at two field sites near Moscow, ID. The best-fit Nachman model Pi = 1 - exp(-0.3616 x(0.808)) was used to restate the limits of noneconomic and economic infestations from one and three aphids per plant to 30 and 58% aphid-infested plants, respectively. Sequential decision plans were computed using the stop-line formulas of Waters for Wald's Sequential Probability Ratio Test. Validation of the sequential decision plan by simulated sampling from the 2011 data as well as from six commercial fields sampled during 2012 showed that when observed field densities either exceeded the economic injury level or were less than one third the economic injury level, the plan correctly classified aphid economic status in >99% of the resampling trials. Practical implementation of the plan is discussed.

A simple plant mutation abets a predator-diversity cascade.

Resource consumption often increases with greater consumer biodiversity. This could result either from complementarity among consumers or the inclusion of particular key species, and it is often difficult to differentiate between these two mechanisms. We exploited a simple plant mutation (reduced production of surface waxes) to alter foraging within a community of aphid predators, and thus perhaps shift the nature of resulting predator diversity effects. We found that greater predator species richness dramatically increased prey suppression and plant biomass only on mutant, reduced-wax pea plants (Pisum sativum). On pea plants from a sister line with wild type, waxier plant surfaces, predator species richness did not influence predators' impacts on herbivores or plants. Thus, a change in plant surface structure acted to turn on, or off, the cascading effects of predator diversity. Greater predator richness encouraged higher densities of true predators but did not lead to greater reproduction by a parasitoid, Aphidius ervi; fecundity of each natural enemy species was similar for the two plant types. Behavioral observations indicated that although A. ervi was less likely to forage within species-rich predator communities, low-wax plants mitigated this interference by encouraging generally greater A. ervi foraging and thus high rates of aphid dislodgement (aphids dropped from plants to escape A. ervi, but not the other predators). Thus, only species-rich, low-wax plants simultaneously encouraged strong species-specific effects of A. ervi, and strong complementarity among the other predator species. In summary, our study provides evidence that diversity effects in predator assemblages are sensitive to habitat characteristics. Further, we show that a simple plant morphological trait, controlled by a single gene mutation, can dramatically alter the cascading effects of predator species richness on herbivores and plants.

Manipulation of Vector Host Preference by Pathogens: Implications for Virus Spread and Disease Management.

Some plant pathogens manipulate the behavior and performance of their vectors, potentially enhancing pathogen spread. The implications are evolutionary and epidemiological but also economic for pathogens that cause disease in crops. Here we explore with models the effects of vector manipulation on crop yield loss to disease and on the economic returns for vector suppression. We use two frameworks, one that simulates the proportional occurrence of the pathogen in the vector population with the option to eliminate vectors by a single insecticidal treatment, and one that includes vector population dynamics and the potential for multiple insecticidal sprays in a season to suppress vectors. We parameterize the models with published data on vector manipulation, crop yields as affected by the age of the plant at infection, commodity prices and costs of vector control for three pathosystems. Using the first framework, maximum returns for treating vectors are greater with vector manipulation than without it by approximately US$10 per acre (US$24.7/ha) in peas infected by Pea enation mosaic virus and Bean leaf roll virus, and approximately US$50 per acre (US$124/ha) for potatoes infected by Potato leaf roll virus. Using the second framework, maximum returns for controlling the psyllid vectors of Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum are 50% greater (approximately US$400/acre, US$988/ha) but additional returns for multiple weekly sprays diminish more with vector manipulation than without it. These results suggest that the economics of vector manipulation can be substantial and provide a framework that can inform management decisions.

Introduction to the Collection: Climate Change, Insect Pests, and Beneficial Arthropods in Production Systems.

Climate change is expected to alter pressure from insect pests and the abundance and effectiveness of insect pollinators across diverse agriculture and forestry systems. In response to warming, insects are undergoing or are projected to undergo shifts in their geographic ranges, voltinism, abundance, and phenology. Drivers include direct effects on the focal insects and indirect effects mediated by their interactions with species at higher or lower trophic levels. These climate-driven effects are complex and variable, sometimes increasing pest pressure or reducing pollination and sometimes with opposite effects depending on climatic baseline conditions and the interplay of these drivers. This special collection includes several papers illustrative of these biological effects on pests and pollinators. In addition, in response to or anticipating climate change, producers are modifying production systems by introducing more or different crops into rotations or as cover crops or intercrops or changing crop varieties, with potentially substantial effects on associated insect communities, an aspect of climate change that is relatively understudied. This collection includes several papers illustrating these indirect production system-level effects. Together, biological and management-related effects on insects comprise the necessary scope for anticipating and responding to the effects of climate change on insects in agriculture and forest systems.

Do Invasive and Naturalized Aphid Pest Populations Respond Differently to Climatic and Landscape Factors?

Ongoing environmental change affects pest populations, migration, and propensity to damage crops, but the responses to climatic drivers could vary among newly invasive and already naturalized closely related species. To compare these responses of a newly invasive aphid, Metopolophium festucae cerealium (Stroyan), with its naturalized congeneric [M. dirhodum (Walker)] and confamilial [Sitobian avenae (Fab.)], we conducted annual surveys over four years across a total of 141 winter wheat fields in the inland Pacific Northwest, USA. Key climatic factors (cumulative precipitation for each calendar year to sampling date, cumulative degree days), landscape factors (proportion of wheat and landscape diversity within the sample year), and Julian day were calculated for each sampling event, and aphid abundance by species, total aphid abundance, overall species richness, diversity, and aphid community composition were assessed. Metopolophium f. cerealium, the second most abundant species, was positively associated with precipitation, suggesting a projected increase in precipitation in winter and spring in the region could favor its establishment and expansion. Although M. dirhodum and S. avenae linearly (positively) associated with temperature, M. f. cerealium did not, indicating that continued warming may be detrimental to the species. Despite the weak impacts of landscape factors, our study indicated that more wheat generally facilitates cereal aphid abundance. Metopolophium f. cerealium abundance tended to be higher in earlier (May/early June vs. late June/July) samples when wheat crop could be vulnerable to aphid feeding. This study suggests that the new presence of M. f. cerealium has important pest management implications in the region.

Coffee farm diversity and landscape features influence density of colonies of Atta cephalotes (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

The density of colonies of leaf-cutting ants, Atta cephalotes L. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), was measured and compared among coffee (Coffea arabica L.) plantations in five management categories: monoculture conventional, diversified conventional, diversified organic, highly diversified conventional, and highly diversified organic. Twenty-four small farms (<4 ha) in Turrialba, Costa Rica, were included in this study. Within-farm and off-farm (landscape) variables were measured and tested for their relationship with A. cephalotes colony density. Total ant colony density (colonies per ha) and density of new colonies shortly after a nuptial flight were significantly greater in the coffee monoculture conventional system, compared with all other systems. Total ant colony density and density of new colonies were inversely related to percentage of shade within the farms. Within farms, colony density was greater near edges adjacent to riparian forest than those adjacent to nonforested land. Regardless of edge type, plots closer to the edge (0-30 m) had greater colony density than those furthest from the edge. At the landscape scale, density of new colonies was positively related to fallow land use coverage within a 2,000-m buffer radius and to forest coverage within a 500-m radius. Results indicate that coffee farm management practices and landscape level factors can affect A. cephalotes colony densities. Understanding such practices and factors could assist in the development of better management methods of these injurious insects in coffee farms. Increased diversification in coffee farms, possibly due to the greater shade associated with it, may reduce colonization by the ants, which are considered forest gap specialists.

Genetic diversity and population structure of a global invader Mayweed chamomile (Anthemis cotula): management implications.

Mayweed chamomile (Anthemis cotula) is a globally invasive, troublesome annual weed but knowledge of its genetic diversity, population structure in invaded regions and invasion patterns remains unstudied. Therefore, germplasm from 19 A. cotula populations (sites) from three geographically distinct invaded regions: the Walla Walla Basin (located in southern Washington) and the Palouse (located in both northern Idaho and eastern Washington), Pacific Northwest, USA and Kashmir Valley, India were grown in the greenhouse for DNA extraction and sequencing. A total of 18 829 single-nucleotide polymorphisms were called and filtered for each of 89 samples. Pairwise F ST, Nei's genetic distance, heterozygosity, Wright's inbreeding coefficient (F) and self-fertilization rates were estimated for populations within and among the three regions with a total of 19 populations comprised of 89 individuals. Overall measurements of genetic variation were low but significant among regions, populations and individuals. Despite the weak genetic structure, two main genetic clusters were evident, one comprised of populations from Palouse and Kashmir Valley, the other comprised of populations from the Walla Walla Basin. Significant selfing was observed in populations from the Walla Walla Basin and Palouse but not from Kashmir Valley, indicating that Mayweed chamomile in the Pacific Northwest, USA could persist with low pollinator or pollen donor densities. Although F ST values between the regions indicate Palouse populations are more closely related to Kashmir Valley than to Walla Walla Basin populations, based on Migrate-n analysis, panmixis was the most likely model, suggesting an unrestricted gene flow among all three regions. Our study indicated that Kashmir Valley populations either originated from or shared the origin with the Palouse populations, suggesting human-mediated migration of A. cotula between regions.

Influence of tillage on adult and immature pea leaf weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) densities in pea.

The pea leaf weevil, Sitona lineatus (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), has been a major pest of pea, Pisum sativum L., in eastern Washington and northern Idaho since its introduction to the region in the early 1970s. Eggs are deposited in the spring on the soil surface and first instars hatch and move to pea root nodules, where larvae feed before they pupate and adults emerge in mid- to late summer. No-tillage practices are known to reduce pea leaf weevil colonization in pea, but the effects of tillage on larval densities and subsequent adult emergence have not been examined. During 2005, 2006, and 2007, we compared densities of colonizing adult and immature pea leaf weevils on pea plots grown using conventional tillage and no-tillage. In 2005 and 2006, emergence of adult pea leaf weevil was monitored in the same plots. Densities of colonizing adult and immature pea leaf weevil were significantly higher in conventional tillage plots. Larvae in conventional tillage were further along in development than larvae in no-tillage plots during June and July. Densities of emerging adult pea leaf weevil were significantly greater from conventional tillage than no-tillage plots. Based on densities of colonizing and subsequent emerging adults, survival of weevils from egg through adult was greater in conventional tillage plots. Soils under no-tillage are cooler, resulting in later emergence of the pea crop and delayed root nodule development, possibly affecting the ability of first-instar pea leaf weevil to locate host plant roots. Our results indicate no-tillage fields are less suitable for pea leaf weevil colonization and survival than conventional tillage fields.

Toward a Better Understanding of Genotype × Environment × Management Interactions-A Global Wheat Initiative Agronomic Research Strategy.

The Wheat Initiative (WI) and the WI Expert Working Group (EWG) for Agronomy (www.wheatinitiative.org) were formed with a collective goal to "coordinate global wheat research efforts to increase wheat production, quality, and sustainability to advance food security and safety under changing climate conditions." The Agronomy EWG is responsive to the WI's research need, "A knowledge exchange strategy to ensure uptake of innovations on farm and to update scientists on changing field realities." The Agronomy EWG aims to consolidate global expertise for agronomy with a focus on wheat production systems. The overarching approach is to develop and adopt a systems-agronomy framework relevant to any wheat production system. It first establishes the scale of current yield gaps, identifies defensible benchmarks, and takes a holistic approach to understand and overcome exploitable yield gaps to complement genetic increases in potential yield. New opportunities to increase productivity will be sought by exploiting future Genotype × Environment × Management synergies in different wheat systems. To identify research gaps and opportunities for collaboration among different wheat producing regions, the EWG compiled a comprehensive database of currently funded wheat agronomy research (n = 782) in countries representing a large proportion of the wheat grown in the world. The yield gap analysis and research database positions the EWG to influence priorities for wheat agronomy research in member countries that would facilitate collaborations, minimize duplication, and maximize the global impact on wheat production systems. This paper outlines a vision for a global WI agronomic research strategy and discusses activities to date. The focus of the WI-EWG is to transform the agronomic research approach in wheat cropping systems, which will be applicable to other crop species.