Aphids damage many plant varieties and when feeding transmit diseases such as cucumber mosaic virus and beet western yellows virus that can decimate crop production.
Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources researcher Piotr Trebicki said increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, a major factor in climate change, modified plant growth, pest populations and the severity of plant diseases.
“We’re trying to understand plant-insect interactions under increasing CO2, to assess their importance on future plants and food production, and develop new crop management strategies to reduce pests and disease pressure, to sustain and ideally increase levels of production,” Dr Trebicki said.
However, increasing C02 levels isn’t all good news.
Dr Trebicki said he found by increasing CO2, capsicum plants were taller, with higher biomass, but the plant canopy temperature was significantly higher and nutritional quality was significantly lower.
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