Exploitation of Wild Cicer reticulatum Germplasm for Resistance to Helicoverpa armigera

Abstract

In the absence of high levels of resistance to Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) in the cultivated germplasm of chickpea, we evaluated accessions of Cicer spp. mostly Cicer reticulatum Ladzinsky, for resistance to this important pest. Under multichoice conditions in the field, 10 accessions showed lower leaf damage and lower numbers of eggs, larvae, or both of H. armigera. Of these, IG 69960, IG 72934, and IG 72936 showed significantly lower leaf feeding than the cultivated genotypes or other accessions at the vegetative and reproductive stages. Larval weight was lower or comparable with that on C. bijugum (IG 70019) and C. judaicum (IG 70032) in C. reticulatum accessions IG 72933, IG 72934, IG 72936, and IG 72953 at the seedling stage and on IG 69960 and IG 72934 at the flowering stage. The accessions showing resistance to H. armigera in the field and laboratory conditions were placed in different groups, indicating the presence of diversity in C. reticulatum accessions for resistance to this pest. Less than seven larvae survived on IG 70020, IG 72940, IG 72948, and IG 72949, and IG 72964 compared with 12 on ICC 506. Larval and total developmental periods were prolonged by 6-15 and 3-8 d, respectively, on C. reticultatum accessions compared with those on ICCC 37. Less than five larvae pupated on the C. reticulatum accessions (except IG 72958 and ICC 17163) compared with 11 in ICCC 37. Accessions showing lower leaf feeding and adverse effects on the survival and development can be used in increasing the levels and diversifying the basis of resistance to H. armigera in chickpea.

Antixenosis and antibiosis mechanisms of resistance to pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera in wild relatives of chickpea, Cicer arietinum

“…Antibiosis mechanism of resistance to H. armigera in wild relatives of chickpea The plants grown in the field and glasshouse were used in the detached leaf assay to assess antibiosis component of resistance to H. armigera in the wild relatives of chickpea under laboratory conditions (27 ± 2°C temperature, 65 ± 5% RH and photoperiod of 12 h) (Sharma et al 2005b). Ten milliliter of boiled agaragar (3%) was poured into plastic cups (4.5 9 11.5 cm diameter) kept in a slanting manner.…”

“…Wild relatives of crops have been exploited as a diverse pool of genetic resources for crop improvement, including insect and disease resistance (Hajjar and Hodgkin 2007). Some of the wild relatives of chickpea have shown very high levels of resistance to H. armigera (Sharma et al 2004(Sharma et al , 2005b(Sharma et al , c, 2006. Host plants affect both the survival and feeding intensity of the larvae (Suzana et al 2015), and oviposition by the adults (Ruan and Wu 2001;Kulkarni et al 2004).…”

Chickpea: Crop Improvement under Changing Environment Conditions

“…Wild relatives of chickpea are an important source of resistance to leaf miner L. cicerina and the bruchid C. chinensis [107]. Accessions belonging to C. bijugum (ICC 17206, IG 70002, IG 70003, IG 70006, 70012, IG 70016, and IG 70016), C. judaicum (IG 69980, IG 70032, and IG 70033), C. pinnatifidum (IG 69948), and C. reticulatum (IG 70020, IG 72940, IG 72948, IG 72949, and IG 72964) [108] have shown high levels of resistance to H. armigera. Some of the wild relatives of chickpea have different mechanisms than those in the cultivated types, which can be used in crop improvement to diversify the bases of resistance to this pest.…”

Resistance to beet armyworm in a chickpea recombinant inbred line population

“…For example, only moderate levels of resistance to H. armigera have been identified, and only in a few accessions among the more than 14 000 C. arietinum accessions that have been screened (Sharma et al 2007). Thus, chickpea entomologists and breeders have expanded their searches for insect resistance to the wild relatives of C. arietinum (Singh et al 1998;Kaur et al 1999;Sharma et al 2002Sharma et al , 2005bSharma et al , 2006. Some of these screenings identified high levels of resistance to H. armigera in accessions of C. reticulatum Lad.…”

“…Some of these screenings identified high levels of resistance to H. armigera in accessions of C. reticulatum Lad. (Sharma et al 2002(Sharma et al , 2005b, the putative wild progenitor that is cross compatible with C. arietinum (Ladizinsky 1975;Muehlbauer et al 1994). This discovery suggests that conventional plant breeding could be used to endow chickpea cultivars with insect resistance traits in wild Cicer.…”