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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Crop Genetics and Breeding Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #219470
Title: Physiological and biochemical bases of fall armyworm resistance in the seedlings of maize inbred lines

Author
item Ni, Xinzhi
item DA, KEDONG - UNIV OF GA
item GUNAWAN, GUNAWATI - UNIV OF GA
item BUNTIN, DAVID - UNIV OF GA
item BROWN, STEVE - UNIV OF GA

Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Regional Meetings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/30/2007
Publication Date: 3/2/2008
Citation: Ni, X., Da, K., Gunawan, G., Buntin, D., Brown, S.L. 2008. Physiological and biochemical bases of fall armyworm resistance in the seedlings of maize inbred lines. Southeastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, March 2-5, 2008, Jacksonville, Florida.

Interpretive Summary: not required

Technical Abstract: Four CIMMYT maize inbred lines (i.e., CML333, CML335, CML 336, and CML338), and a susceptible (i.e., AB24E) and resistant (i.e., Mp780) control were examined for the mechanisms of fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) resistance. The six inbred lines were evaluated under both greenhouse and field conditions when corn plants were at the 6-leaf stage. The experimental plants were artificially infested with 20 FAW neonates. While the FAW damage rating, plant height, plant stem circumference, and chlorophyll content were examined under both greenhouse and field conditions, photosynthetic rate and peroxidase activity were only examined on the control and infested plants grown under the greenhouse conditions. The FAW-damage ratings on CML333, CML336, and CML338 were the same as the resistant control (Mp380), which was significantly lower than the susceptible control AB24E. However, the FAW-damage rating on CML335 was the same as on AB24E. Plant height, plant stem circumference, and chlorophyll content also varied among the inbred lines. Photosynthetic rate in the FAW-damaged CML338 leaves were greater than that in the un-infested leaves. In contrast, the photosynthetic rate was not different between the FAW-damaged and the un-infested leaves in the other five inbred lines. The peroxidase activity was not different between the FAW-infested and the un-infested leaves in all six inbred lines. The ramification of the experimental results in unraveling insect resistance mechanisms will also be discussed.