Insect-Pests and Their Management: Current Status and Future Need of Research in Quality Maize

Abstract

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important staple food for millions of people across the world. However, different stress factors mainly the insectpests, viz., maize stalk borer, pink stem borer, sugarcane leafhopper, shoot bug, armyworm, shoot fly, corn leaf aphid, cob borer, and termites, have constrained the increase in yield potential of the maize genotypes deployed in India. The hybrid initiative turned out to be exceedingly important for Quality Protein Maize (QPM) efforts, and many countries in the developing world including India are becoming increasingly interested in QPM to reduce malnourishment and to sustain nutritional security. However, it is also likely that the increase in concentration and quality of nutritional components particularly the protein in QPM might favor the proliferation of insect-pests as they too prefer quality food for their growth and development and could be major constraints to increasing production and productivity of QPM. Therefore, development and deployment of high-yielding and insect-resistant QPM genotypes under the umbrella of integrated pest management system might help in narrowing down the yield gap by reducing the crop losses caused by insect-pests. Since maize is damaged by an array of insect groups with different feeding habits right from the seedling stage to maturity of the crop, no single strategy is sufficient to manage such complex group of insect-pests. Damage potential of different insect-pests, status of host plant resistance and the mechanisms of resistance involved, and the management of major insect-pests have also been discussed in this chapter. IntroductionMaize (Zea mays L.) is the third most important food crop after rice and wheat and is an important staple food for millions of people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. According to recent estimates, the maize is being cultivated over an

Exploiting the Genetic Diversity of Maize Using a Combined Metabolomic, Enzyme Activity Profiling, and Metabolic Modeling Approach to Link Leaf Physiology to Kernel Yield

“…The direct effect of the leaf chlorogenate content on crop yield is not well documented. However, it has been reported that chlorogenates are key molecules involved in pest resistance (Dhillon et al, 2013;Ferruz et al, 2016). They can also be used as marker molecules for maize improvement (Butrón et al, 2001;Sood et al, 2014).…”

Biochemical interactions for antibiosis mechanism of resistance to Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) in different maize types

“…Plant resistance to insects appears to be complex character and depends on the interplay of number of componential characters, which finally sum up in the expression of resistance to insect pests (Dhillon et al 2005;Huang et al 2013). Screening of maize germplasm in the past has reported low to moderate levels of resistance to spotted stem borer, C. partellus (Dhillon et al 2014), while several new sources with high levels of resistance to C. partellus have been identified in different maize types (Dhillon and Gujar 2013). In the present studies, both white and yellow kernel maize genotypes having variable morphological traits (leaf glossiness, anthocyanin pigmentation and seedling vigor) were found to have significantly lower deadhearts as compared to the resistant check, CML 334.…”

“…in the Americas; and Ostrinia spp. in the Americas, Europe and East Asia] pose a great challenge to increasing productivity potential of this crop (Dhillon et al 2014). Among these, C. partellus is one of the most important biotic constraints, resulting in 27-80 % crop losses in India and Africa (Kanta et al 1997).…”

Effect of Naphthalene Acetic Acid & Indole Acetic Acid on Growth, Yield and Quality of Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.)

“…The modification in sex expression by exogenous application of plant growth regulators and certain chemicals had received considerable attention in cucurbitaceous crops such as Cucumis sativus L. by Choudhury and Phatak [7] and Astmon et al [8]: in Cucumis melo L. by Brantely and Warren [9] and in Lagenaria siceraria (Moll Standl. by Kalia and Dhillon [10].…”