Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 July 2009
In field experiments carried out at Kutsaga, Rhodesia, tobacco plants that had received high or low amounts of nitrogen, in addition to a basic dressing, were examined over five-week periods for the presence of alates and newly; deposited nymphs of Myzus persicae (Sulz.). It was found that settling and larviposition were reduced as a result of nitrogen deficiency in the plants, I apparently due more to some effect associated with slower plant growth than to reduced nutritional suitability. Washing with water enhanced the attractiveness of leaves in laboratory flight-chamber tests with alatae, suggesting the presence of a repellent substance on unwashed leaves. In flight-chamber tests with alatae, and choice-chamber tests with apterae, using artificial leaves made by forming Parafilm sachets on yellow Perspex discs, it was found that larviposition and nutritional suitability were related, and that both were affected by altering the balance of nutrients in the sachets, in the absence of any stimuli on the surfaces of the membranes.