Spider mites response to water stress of corn

Spider mites, in particular Banks Grass Mites (BGM), Oligonychus pratensis Banks and Two-spotted Spider Mites, Tetranychus urticae are known to cause economic damage to many crops, especially under drought stress conditions. Two fundamental ecological questions with applied relevance are: what host plant traits are spider mites attracted to? And, how are these traits associated with drought stress? Drought tolerance is becoming an increasingly important aspects of both crop breeding and crop management, and the role of spider mites tightly linked to drought tolerance in crops. In the current project we are investigating volatile emissions from five different corn genotypes (Bt and non Bt genotypes) when grown in field plots under different controlled water regimes (100%, 75-85%, and 50-60% ET). Concurrently, we conducted olfactometer bioassays and choice tests with Ethovision to assess spider mite responses to leaf materials from these corn genotypes. The role of spider mite attractiveness to corn under drought stress is discussed in the context of their qualitative and quantitative effect on corn silage production in the Southern High Plains.