Response of three successive generations of maize aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis Fitch (Aphididae: Hemiptera) reared on maize, Zea mays Linnaeus under elevated carbon dioxide and temperature

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the response of three successive generations of maize aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis Fitch (Aphididae: Hemiptera), reared on maize Zea mays Linnaeus under elevated Carbon dioxide (eCO2) (550 ppm ± 25 ppm) and ambient Carbon dioxide (aCO2) (380 ppm ± 25 ppm) concentrations at six temperatures of 20, 25, 27, 30, 33 and 35 ±1oC in open-top chambers and CO2 growth chambers with CO2 and temperature regulation. Experiment was conducted by adopting agar-leaf method. Elevated CO2 and temperature significantly extended the duration of reproductive time (19.96-23.32 days) with highest fecundity (83.20-87.68 nymphs per female) whereas the development time (6.60-7.16 days) and total life cycle (26.96-29.92 days) were declined compared to that of aCO2 and temperatures in R. maidis across the three generations. The findings showed that eCO2 and temperature significantly increased the number of generations of R. maidis with reduced generation time influenced the crop-insect interactions. The results indicated that the target agricultural management practices for effectively mitigating the concentrations of CO2 and temperature.