Arable: Yellow Wheat Blossom Midge - an emergent threat to UK wheat production

耕地：黄麦花蠓——对英国小麦生产的紧急威胁

• 批准号: BB/X01195X/1
• 负责人: Philip Howell
• 金额: $ 3.18万
• 依托单位: National Institute of Agricultural Botany
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FX01195X%2F1
• 关键词: Arable; Yellow; Wheat; Blossom; Midge

Yellow Wheat Blossom Midge (YWBM) is a poorly understood and often under-reported insect pest of wheat, the UK's most widely grown crop. Midge larvae feed on the wheat flower, preventing grain formation and leading to significant yield losses. All wheat varieties are reported to be susceptible to this pest. In some years, the ideal conditions required for adult midges to emerge from dormancy in the soil, mate and lay eggs occur just as the wheat is at its most vulnerable to attack. However, YWBM damage varies from year-to-year and is currently difficult to predict. This project aims to further our knowledge of this pest and its impact on the wheat crop.In related pest midges, adult females produce a volatile sex pheromone which allows adult males to locate females prior to mating. Synthetic versions of these pheromones released from simple traps are widely used in many crops to monitor midge pests and identify when and where control strategies must be applied. By identifying the sex pheromone of YWBM in this project, we will have completed the necessary first step in developing an appropriate monitoring tool for use in UK wheat crops. We have previously identified experimental NIAB wheat lines that showed no YWBM damage in seasons when midge levels were high in adjacent varieties. With help from plant breeding companies, we will test these promising lines more thoroughly. We will grow them in small field plots at several locations across the UK, and measure YWBM levels in resistant NIAB lines and in susceptible commercial varieties. We will collect unripe wheat ears containing live YWBM larvae, and soil samples containing dormant pupae, from these and other sites to provide a source of midges.Young midges will be reared individually at NIAB East Malling until they emerge as adults. NIAB and NRI specialists will collect the volatile chemicals produced by groups of adult males and females. Through electrophysiological experiments at NRI, we will identify which chemicals produced by female midges can be detected by the males as likely components of the sex pheromone. Using chemical analysis and our experience in identifying other midge pheromones, we will begin identification of the YWBM sex pheromone components. If supply of midges and time allows, we will synthesize these likely components for further testing. NIAB will also explore the feasibility of maintaining a laboratory colony of YWBM for future work into the life cycle of this important pest.

小麦黄花蠓（YWBM）是一种鲜为人知的害虫，经常被低估。小麦是英国种植最广泛的作物。蠓幼虫以麦花为食，妨碍籽粒形成，造成重大的产量损失。据报道，所有小麦品种都易患这种害虫。在某些年份，成年蠓从土壤中冬眠出来、交配和产卵所需的理想条件正好发生在小麦最容易受到攻击的时候。然而，YWBM的伤害每年都在变化，目前很难预测。该项目旨在进一步了解这种害虫及其对小麦作物的影响。在相关的害虫蠓中，成年雌性会产生一种易挥发的性信息素，使成年雄性能够在交配前找到雌性。这些信息素的合成版本从简单的陷阱中释放出来，被广泛用于许多作物中，以监测蠓害虫，并确定何时何地必须采用控制策略。通过在本项目中鉴定出YWBM的性信息素，我们将完成开发适用于英国小麦作物的适当监测工具的必要的第一步。我们之前已经鉴定出NIAB小麦品系，当相邻品种的蠓病水平较高时，这些小麦品系没有表现出YWBM的危害。在植物育种公司的帮助下，我们将更彻底地测试这些有前途的品系。我们将在英国几个地点的小块田地中种植它们，并测量耐NIAB品系和易感商业品种的YWBM水平。我们将从这些地点和其他地点收集含有活的YWBM幼虫的未成熟小麦穗和含有休眠蛹的土壤样品，以提供蠓的来源。年轻的蠓将在NIAB东马林单独饲养，直到它们成年。NIAB和NRI的专家将收集成年雄性和雌性群体产生的挥发性化学物质。通过NRI的电生理实验，我们将确定雌性蠓产生的哪些化学物质可以被雄性检测到可能是性信息素的成分。利用化学分析和我们在鉴定其他蠓信息素方面的经验，我们将开始鉴定YWBM性信息素成分。如果蠓的供应和时间允许，我们将合成这些可能的成分以供进一步测试。NIAB还将探讨维持YWBM实验室菌落的可行性，以便未来研究这种重要害虫的生命周期。