Resistance in Cotton Strains and Cultivars to Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae): Leaf Shape

Abstract

Abstract

Plant resistance has become an important component of integrated pest management (IPM) for management of whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, Gennadius, 1889, an important pest of cotton in India. The present studies were undertaken to standardize the leaf shape and identify resistant cotton strains and cultivars. Okra- and normal-leaf upland cotton, Gossypium hirsutum, Linnaeus, 1753, strains and cultivars compared for susceptibility to Bemisia tabaci. Experiments were conducted at five field sites at Agricultural Research Station (Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner) Sriganganagar, Rajasthan 2002–2006. Okra-leaf strains and cultivars had lower numbers of adults, eggs, and nymphs compared with normal-leaf strains and cultivars indicating the potential of okra-leaf genetic traits for reducing colonization by B. tabaci. Results also suggest that okra-leaf shape may provide less favorable micro-environmental conditions for the habitat of B. tabaci because of more open canopy. The okra-leaf cultivar “IS-376/4/1-40 x RS-2013” appears to have genetic traits that should be examined further as a source of B. tabaci resistance.