Detection of Hidden Volumetric Changes Caused by the Southern Green Stink Bug, Nezara viridula , on Soybean Pods Using Micro‐CT Imaging

Soybean ( Glycine max L.) is an important arable crop playing a major role in human nutrition and animal feed. Piercing‐sucking pests are compromising the safety of soybean cultivation worldwide, mostly by their enzyme‐containing saliva causing deformation, and tissue death within the pierced plant parts. Micro‐computed tomography (micro‐CT) method enables us to nondestructively study the detailed anatomical and morphological changes of stink bug damaged plant tissues. To examine the effect of southern green stink bug's ( Nezara viridula L., 1758) feeding on soybean, 0, 3, and 5 bugs were placed on the pods and subsequently, micro‐CT images were taken at various time points after infestation to determine the changes in inner tissue structures. The measured feeding frequency of N. viridula adults was 14.20 feedings in the first 24 h. Imaging clearly identified the damage caused by N. viridula , as areas of reduced density. Despite the lack of gross volume difference (size of the pods) between the groups, internal tissue alterations were prevalent and captured by the increase of “void” volume (volume of areas < 4000 a.u. intensity) as a function of infestation duration and severity. Moreover, histogram analysis of pod intensities identified significant, damage‐related alterations as early as 24 h post infestation. We can assume that the seed damage caused by enzymes becomes much more pronounced even days after feeding, increasing in both extent and severity. Our results contribute fundamentally to a more objective understanding of the damage spectrum of this invasive agricultural pest and to the assessment of its actual damage potential.