Four Common Insects of Durum Wheat Cultivations in Western Macedonia, Greece

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to monitor population fluctuations of various species of Diptera during the growing season of durum wheat, in years 2009 and 2010. The most abundant Hymenoptera species was also included in the study as a control species. The species studied were Cephus pygmaeus, Haplodiplosis marginata, Mayetiola destructor, and Chlorops pumilionis. Samplings of insects were taken in eight periods to cover the late stages of durum wheat. Measurements were made every about 100 m in the field, with five wheat plants per sample, from 10 different places. Total insect individuals on each wheat plant were counted. Maximum number of individuals per plant reached 6-7 insects, except for C. pumilionis which showed only 3-5 individuals. Year X sampling period interaction was also found in some cases, indicating different populations' fluctuations across years. The relatively low populations found in our study may indicate low level of danger on crop production, but the unstable populations of the most multitudinous insect species H. marginata and C. pygmaeus may cover a possible danger, especially for species H. marginata which, in specific years, can be found in great numbers causing severe damages on wheat crops. Combination of pests may result in significant damages and a total recording procedure must be practiced.

A breeding concept to improve the performance of locally cultivated bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars

“…Also, for the TKW trait in the wheat breeding, the numbers of favourable alleles in the modern cultivars indicate that there is still considerable genetic potential (variability) for use in genome selection (Wang et al 2012) and, thus, this trait needs more investigation. These positive results were realised although the presence of various insects was apparent and the possible damages were described previously in the same region (Deligeorgidis et al 2012). They also referred to the fact that the yield losses are usually about 5% or more.…”