H. zea caterpillars grow slower on salt-treated tomato plants
H. zea caterpillar relative growth rate (RGR) on plant tissues treated with varying amounts of salt was estimated in a detached leaf agar-cup-based assay as well as an on-plant assay. H. zeacaterpillar RGR was negatively affected by salt treatment in a detached-leaf agar cup-based assay (Figure 2A; χ² = 8.174,P = 0.0168, Dunn’s post-hoc : 0 mM vs 200 mM: P = 0.0205, 100 mM vs 200 mM: P > 0.9999, 0 mM vs 100 mM: P = 0.1236) as well as an on-plant assay (Figure 2B;F (2, 112) = 19.63, P < 0.0001, Tukey’spost-hoc : 0 mM vs 200 mM: P < 0.0001, 100 mM vs 200 mM: P = 0.6173, 0 mM vs 100 mM: P < 0.0001).