The Effects of Salinity and Activated Charcoal on the Herbivory of Arabidopsis thaliana by Myzus persicae
Keywords:
Arabidopsis thaliana, Myzus persicae, phloem feeding insects, activated charcoal, road salt, plant-herbivore interactions, plant stressAbstract
Road salt is commonly applied in the winter and inevitably percolates into surrounding areas where it is absorbed by plants. The detrimental effects of salinity on plants has been studied extensively, with recent research papers investigating potential mitigative methods, including the application of biochar. Building upon previous findings, this study serves to explore the use of activated carbon, charcoal with increased adsorptive ability, as a remediation technique for salt stress. Using Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) and Myzus persicae (green peach aphids) as our model organisms, the aim was to determine the individual and combined effects of salinity and activated charcoal on plant performance and aphid populations using a factorial design. The overall findings presented a statistically significant effect (p=0.0201) on M. persicae herbivory between 25 mM salt and activated charcoal treatment groups. Although changes in plant biomass were not observed, there were a greater number of aphids occupying the plants without activated charcoal than on plants with activated charcoal for 25 mM salt treatments. Therefore, activated charcoal presents the opportunity for an accessible method of treatment for salt-stressed plants.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).