Table 2.
Results of ANOVAs assessing the overall effects of soil microbial inoculants on resistance to T. ni in a no-choice test across crop species.
| Resistance measurement | Variable | F | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight gain | Inoculant age | F3,131 = 3.1318 | 0.0279* |
| Crop species | F3,8 = 86.9621 | <0.0001*** | |
| Inoculant source | F1,131 = 2.4207 | 0.1222 | |
| Inoculant age × crop species | F9,132 = 0.6468 | 0.7552 | |
| Leaf area eaten | Inoculant age | F3,131 = 2.7717 | 0.0441* |
| Crop species | F3,8 = 83.2206 | <0.0001*** | |
| Inoculant source | F1,130 = 1.9539 | 0.1645 | |
| Inoculant age × crop species | F9,131 = 0.4388 | 0.9118 | |
| Accumulation efficiency | Inoculant age | F3,131 = 1.3854 | 0.2501 |
| Crop species | F3,8 = 23.7509 | 0.0003*** | |
| Inoculant source | F1,130 = 0.2690 | 0.6049 | |
| Inoculant age × crop species | F9,131 = 0.7149 | 0.6945 |
Maize (Z. mays), tomato (S. lycopersicum), cucumber (C. sativus), and lettuce (L. sativa) plants were inoculated with soil microbiomes from agricultural (0 years) or fallow plots of different ages (1, 3, or 16 years post-agriculture), with 2 plots representing each age (inoculant source). Herbivore resistance was measured in no-choice bioassays with c. 6 d old T. ni larvae, in which weight gain, leaf area eaten, and biomass accumulation efficiency were measured after feeding for 3 (maize, tomato, and cucumber assays) or 4 d (lettuce assays). N = 8-12 replicates per species × inoculant age treatment after omitting insects that died, lost weight, or did not eat. *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001.