The number of flowers decreased among damage and control groups across fertilizer treatments. As flowers are part of the reproductive system of tomato plants, plants with less flowers could be less successful at reproduction. This would mean our treatment had a negative effect on reproduction, which, if tested for, would be consistent with previous literature (Ziosi et al. 2008; Redman et al. 2001; Koussevitzky et al. 2004). The treatment, although successful on herbivore deterrence, may negatively affect the reproductive success of the plants. This would be another study, but it is important to assess the costs to plant success when considering the benefits of herbivore deterrence.
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