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New Commercial Feeding Disruption Bioassay Kit for Species and Insecticide Resistance Diagnosis in the Tobacco Budworm and Cotton Bollworm in Cotton
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ABSTRACT The feeding disruption bioassay kit for insect resistance detection and species diagnosis is in the commercialization phase of development. The kit consists of a specially designed white plastic 16-well plate with recessed, hydrateable meal pads containing a diagnostic dose of insecticide and a blue indicator dye to monitor larval feeding. The appearance of blue feces easily seen on the background of the white plate is a measure of feeding rate. Neonates that produce blue feces after a 24 h incubation are diagnosed as being resistant. The assay kit has an extended shelf-life at room temperature and is ready to use off the shelf for any pesticide. Kits for monitoring resistance were developed and tested for the tobacco budworm and/or the cotton bollworm for the following insecticides: Bt, spinosyn, permethrin, indoxacarb and emamectin benzoate. A species diagnostic kit based on feeding disruption was also developed and field tested for distinguishing the budworm from the bollworm. This kit uses the same principle as that of the resistance kit and with a diagnostic dose of Bt that detects the natural resistance of the bollworm to this pesticide. Neonates that produce blue feces are diagnosed as cotton bollworms. The species diagnosis assay was successfully tested and validated using insects from NC and LA. The utility of the feeding disruption assay was further demonstrated by developing a method for monitoring for spinosyn resistance in the cabbage looper. The commercial manufacturer has developed state-of-the-art robotics technology for the mass production of these resistance and species diagnostic kits. |
©National Cotton Council, Memphis TN |
Document last modified May 20, 2002
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