Effects of host plants nutrient on the nutrient in Bradysia cellarum and Bradysia impatiens

The chive maggots Bradysia cellarum the fungus gnats Bradysia impatiens are two main root pests of plants. They can coexist on same host plants and have become devastating pests on liliaceous crops and edible fungi. Their growth and development are affected by nutrients of their host plants. We studied the effects of different host plant nutrients on the nutrient contents of these two Bradysia species. We assayed the nutrients in the roots of chive, board bean (B-bean), lettuce, cabbage, wild cabbage (W-cabbage) and pepper, and analysed the nutrient content of the two Bradysia species after three continuous generations of feeding on these different host plants. There chive and B-bean had higher contents of protein, free amino acid and starch than in other host plants. Soluble sugar, fat and protein contents were significantly higher in both Bradysia species when they were reared on chive and B-bean than when reared on cabbage, lettuce, W-cabbage and pepper. Our study provides a reference for further studies on the host range of the two Bradysia species, as well as knowledge for consideration in field crop rotations.