Effects of defoliation on the resistance and tolerance of rice, Oryza sativa, to root injury by the rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus

Understanding plant‐mediated interactions in agricultural systems may facilitate the development of novel and improved management practices, which is important, as management of these insects is currently heavily reliant on insecticides. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae, Prodeniini), is a sporadic pest of rice fields in the southern USA. In southwestern Louisiana, this defoliating insect typically attacks rice early in the growth season, before fields are flooded. Defoliation by fall armyworm larvae may trigger increased expression of plant defenses, which may result in increased resistance to subsequent herbivores. The rice water weevil (RWW), Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Stenopelmini), enters rice fields as an adult both before and after flooding, but oviposition and larval infestation occur only after fields are flooded. RWW may be affected by changes in plant resistance caused by fall armyworm defoliation before flooding. The objectives of this study were to investigate the plant‐mediated effects of natural and artificial defoliation on population densities of RWW larvae after flooding and on the ability of rice plants to compensate for root injury by RWW larvae. In the 2015 season, fall armyworm defoliation before flooding resulted in reduced RWW densities after flooding. However, in 2016 no significant effects of fall armyworm defoliation on densities of RWW larvae were detected. Similarly, mechanical defoliation of rice before flooding did not affect RWW densities after flooding. Although lowest yields were observed in plots subjected to both root injury and defoliation, there was little evidence of a greater than additive reduction in yields from simultaneous injury. These results suggest a lack of plant‐mediated interactions among these two pests in rice in the southern USA. The relatively small and inconsistent increases in resistance to rice water weevil (RWW) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in plots defoliated by fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and the lack of effects on tolerance to RWW probably do not warrant changes to existing management practices, and suggest that management practices for these two pests in rice can continue to be developed independently of one another.