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Research Project: Management of Aphids Attacking Cereals

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Title: Plant resistance in sorghums to the sugarcane aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Author
item Armstrong, John
item PAUDYAL, SULOCHANA - Oklahoma State University
item LIMAJE, ANKUR - Oklahoma State University
item Elliott, Norman - Norm
item HOBACK, WYATT - Oklahoma State University

Submitted to: Journal of Entomological Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/12/2018
Publication Date: 10/1/2018
Citation: Armstrong, J.S., Paudyal, S., Limaje, A., Elliott, N.C., Hoback, W. 2018. Plant resistance in sorghums to the sugarcane aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Journal of Entomological Science. 53(4):478-485. doi.org/10.18474/JES17-106.1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18474/JES17-106.1

Interpretive Summary: Six out of 10 grain sorghum lines that are at or near commercial release, were found to express good sources of resistance against the sugarcane aphid. These sorghums will be a significant asset to producers who are looking for every feasible management practice they can use to manage sugarcane aphid epidemics.

Technical Abstract: We evaluated ten sorghum lines that were near or in commercial release with the intent of identifying phenotypic expression of host-plant resistance to the sugarcane aphid. Two of the ten entries OL2042 and SP7715 expressed a high degree of resistance to the sugarcane aphid with damage ratings <3.0, on a scale of 1.0 - 9.0, 1.0 being no damage, and 9.0 a dead plant and not significantly different than the known resistant Tx2783. Four other entries (OL0029, SP74C40, SP78M30, SP73B12) resulted in having very good expression of resistance scoring between <3.0 and >4.0, and were statistically lower than the susceptible check Tx7000. Chlorophyll loss and damage ratings had a close linear relationship (R2 = 0.87), followed by a slight improvement (R2 = 0.89) in the regression models when difference in plant height was added as a second independent variable. The relationship helps explain the degree of tolerance when sorghum is challenged with heavy sugarcane aphid feeding. This evaluation provides sorghum producers with options for planting sorghums resistant to sugarcane aphid which allows for more time to find and develop new sources of resistance.