Age-Dependent Potato Tolerance to Herbivory in Different Nutrient Environments

Tolerance is a type of defense that allows plants to attenuate the negative effects of herbivory. Tolerance has been shown to be context-dependent, contingent on abiotic and biotic factors such as nutrients and plant age. Here, we determine the simultaneous effect of herbivory at different phenological stages and nitrogen regimen on the potato’s ability to tolerate herbivory. We subjected young and blooming plants of two potato varieties to 50% injury by Colorado Potato Beetle in low and high nitrogen environments to determine their effects on tuber yield and plant tolerance. All plants in the high nitrogen treatment expressed higher yield and tolerance compared to those in the low nitrogen treatment. Control plants expressed higher yield than plants in either herbivory treatment. There was a variety by phenological stage of herbivory interaction showing that phenological-based tolerance expression within species is genotype dependent.