Effects of Apolygus lucorum Infestation on Ultrastructure and Photosynthetic Pigment of Tea Plant Leaves

Wan Yuanhong; Yang Chun; Li Shuai; Liang Sihui; Meng Zehong; Zhou Yufeng

doi:10.14083/j.issn.1001-4942.2025.06.015

Abstract：In order to clarify the effects of feeding damage caused by Apolygus lucorum on leaf structure and photosynthetic pigment of tea plants,the UV spectrophotometry was used to measure the photosynthetic pigment content of tea plant leaves with different damage degrees.The ultrastructure changes of tea plant leaves were observed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.The results showed that the damage caused by A.lucorum feeding had a great effect on tea plant leaves.The more severe the damage was,the bigger the holes of leaves were.At the same time,it caused leaf surface shrink,and changed the shape of waxy pattern on the leaf surface from flat to wrinkled ridge.The stomatal density increased and the stomatal opening rate decreased after feeding.Meanwhile,the fuggy density of severely damaged leaves was significantly higher than that of the other treatments.Feeding by A.lucorum had a great effect on the ultrastruc-ture of mesophyll cells.The area of mesophyll cells,the space between cells and the intracellular vacuoles in-creased,and many cells in severely damaged leaves dissolved.With the increase of damage degree,the num-ber of starch granules in mesophyll cells increased at first and then decreased,and the number of osmophilic granules increased sharply in severely damaged leaves.The chlorophyll content and chloroplast number in the leaves showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing with the degree increase of damage.A.lucorum could cause significant damage to the apparent morphology and ultrastructure of tea plant leaves,seriously af-fecting the normal growth of tea plants.The results of this research could provide a theoretical basis for further in-depth study of the interaction between A.lucorum and tea plants.