Evaluation of Resistance to Tarnished Plant Bug in Cotton

R. McGowen, F. Bourland, and N. Tugwell


 
ABSTRACT

Tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris Palisot de Beauvois) damage in cotton can delay fruiting and offset optimum plant growth and development. When fruiting is delayed, peak populations of boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis Boheman), tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens F.), and cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa zea Boddie) often coincide with peak fruiting in cotton. There is an increasing need for identification and development of genetic resistance to tarnished plant bug (TPB) in current cotton genotypes. Work initiated in 1993 was continued in 1994 to 1) develop a screening protocol for TPB resistance that incorporates interplanting of mustard (Brassica juncea L.), measuring plant development stage, and evaluating anther damage, and 2) determine progress for TPB resistance in selected cotton lines. Results from the Sequential Planting and the Interrelated Cotton Lines tests indicated 1) response to TPB at Fayetteville was indicative of response to TPB in a major cotton growing area, 2) mustard planted in adjacent rows increased the probability of sufficient TPB populations, 3) relatively early planting tended to reduce plant stress prior to fruiting and any maturity preference by TPB populations, 4) inclusion of a Frego line provided a highly susceptible check and indicator of TPB presence, and 5) sampling squares for anther damage should begin when latest lines begin fruiting and TPB populations are present. Results from the Interrelated Cotton Lines test indicated most lines tested were as resistant as the nectariless check, but there has been little progressive change within the breeding programs represented in this study.



Reprinted from 1995 Proceedings Beltwide Cotton Conference pg. 536
©National Cotton Council, Memphis TN

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Document last modified Sunday, Dec 6 1998