Jolly Green Scientists

The soil harbors all kinds of fungi; some beneficial and some detrimental to the health of plants. A specific class of fungi, known as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form a symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants that's associated with over 80% of plant species globally. These fungi can help alter plant defense traits against herbivores or help provide nutrients to plants. In episode, we digest a study specific to AMF of milkweed plants and how it can impact performance of monarch butterfly caterpillars and aphids.

Full citation to study:

Meier, A. R., & Hunter, M. D. (2018). Mycorrhizae alter toxin sequestration and performance of two specialist herbivores. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 6: 1 - 16.

Mr. Stanton Gill wrote an article in GrowerTalks (https://www.growertalks.com/Article/?articleid=24625) entitled Basil Downy Mildew Field Observations. We'll discuss some of is main discussion points there, from when it first showed up in the USA, symptoms, and resistant cultivars.

In some forests, tree canopies exhibit an interesting behavior in which the leaves and branches will form a 'jigsaw'-like pattern, with leaves and branches avoiding actually touching. Several hypotheses have been expressed for why this happens which is explored in a JSTOR Daily article that we discuss together (https://daily.jstor.org/the-mysteries-of-crown-shyness/?fbclid=IwAR1zcGk5tY5_EK8TXVeKMGgb51K7WWaVa6GuQipKD-xheR4rNMxlHbW7rSw)

Lastly, Vikram and Erfan have a heart-to-heart about why horticulturalists hate on Bradford pears so much!

The mountain pine beetle is a devastating pest of pine forests in the west coast of North America. The beetle will bore into and kill healthy trees, much like the Emerald Ash Borer that has recently been detected in Texas. In this episode, we explore how one tree species, the bristlecone pine, is able to defend against the mountain pine beetle.

Full citation of article discussed:

Bentz, B.J., Hood, S.M., Hansen, E.M., Vandygriff, J.C. and Mock, K.E. (2017), Defense traits in the long‐lived Great Basin bristlecone pine and resistance to the native herbivore mountain pine beetle. New Phytol, 213: 611-624. doi:10.1111/nph.14191

Learn a bit about the two hosts of the show, Erfan Vafaie and Vikram Baliga, how their aspirations to become medical doctors led to become lowly poor scientists, and how they found their passion for insects sand plants.

In this episode, we also digest an article by Szczepaniec and colleagues (2013) that seeks to understand a commonly observed phenomena; some plants treated with neonicotinoid insecticides appear to increase in spider mite populations.

Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides that include imidacloprid, dinotefuran, and thiamethoxam (to name a few) and are considered systemic; applications to the soil are taken up by the roots and provide protection from insects feeding on the plant. Unnecessary applications are not only costly, but can have unintended consequences!

Full citation of article discussed:

Szczepaniec, A., M.J. Raupp, R.D. Parker, D. Kerns and M.D. Eubanks. 2013. Neonicotinoid insecticides alter induced defenses and increase susceptibility to spider mites in distantly related crop plants. PLoS One. 8. 

On this show, we'll digest data from scientific research and popular science magazines (such as GrowerTalks) related to horticultural sciences; whether we're talking about insects or plant production practices. The two hosts are:

Erfan Vafaie, Extension Program Specialist II, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Vikram Baliga, Greenhouse Manager and Instructor of Horticulture, Texas Tech University