Moth oviposition assay
Gravid female H. zea moth oviposition preferences were tested for
tomato plants with differing salt exposures (no salt – 0 mM and high
salt – 200 mM) (Figure 1C ). In a cage (24” x 24” x 36”),
no-salt-treated and salt-treated plants of similar heights were placed
30 cm apart at opposite ends of the cage. Three pairs of H. zeamoths mated for 24 hours before the assay were released in the cage. The
total number of eggs on each plant was recorded every day for 3 days
(Paudel et al. , 2019). A 10% sucrose solution was provided to
the moths for feeding during the assay. Dead moths were replaced as
needed throughout the experiment, although this was only for 7 out of
the total 41 replicates. The plant arrangement inside the cage was
randomized to counter location biases in the setup.