Enhancing Soybean Resistance to the Mexican Bean Beetle

Hypothesis: Plants treated with jasmonic acid and previous herbivory will develop a greater resistance to the Mexican Bean Beetle. Plants treated with salicylic acid will have a weakened defense.

 Procedure: Plants were attacked by Mexican Bean Beetle (MBB) larvae for one week and then the larvae were taken off. This was the previous herbivory treatment. Other plants were sprayed topically with salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) or both. Leaves were excised from all plants, placed in a moist petri dish and five larvae were placed on each one. Analyses included leaf-area consumption, larvae weight, larvae developmental time and larvae mortality.

Conclusion: Plants treated with jasmonic acid and previous herbivory had an increased defense. Larvae developed more slowly, had a higher mortality and lower weight on those plants. Plants treated with salicylic acid had a weakened defense. This could offer practical implications to the agricultural industry in the future.

Abstract: Included.

Other Comments: (next steps or surprising things you learned about soybeans)

Many plants, including soybeans, have a very complex defensive mechanism, just as sophisticated as animals. They aren’t just defenseless green objects.