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Research Project: Management of Aphids Attacking Cereals

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Title: Screening of sorghum lines for resistance against sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari (Zehnter)

Author
item PAUDYAL, SULOCHANA - Oklahoma State University
item Armstrong, John
item GILES, KRISTOPHER - Oklahoma State University
item LIMAJE, ANKUR - Oklahoma State University

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/19/2016
Publication Date: 11/1/2016
Citation: Paudyal, S., Armstrong, J.S., Giles, K., Limaje, A. 2016. Screening of sorghum lines for resistance against sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari (Zehnter) [abstract]. In: Valentin, K.E., Burow, G.B., Jugulam, M. Proceedings of the 2016 SICNA Meeting, September 19-21, 2016, Manhattan, Kansas. p. 27. Available: www.sicna.net.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The sugarcane aphid Melanaphis sacchari (Zehnter) has emerged as the most significant threat to sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) production in the United States. Since 2013, discovery of aphid resistant germplasm has been a priority all stakeholders involved. We screened twenty three different sorghum lines for resistance in a free choice assay by infesting entries with sugarcane aphids at the 3-4 leaf stage. Damage ratings were initiated when the susceptible control (585) was estimated to be 85% dead. All plants were evaluated using a damage rating of 1–9 (little to high damage). Chlorophyll loss was also quantified in a no-choice test on infested and uninfested leaves of each of the lines using a SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter. Based on plant height, number of leaves, and chlorophyll values from the free-choice study, sorghum lines 0L0030, 95207, G1213, GW1489, 97157, TX 2783, W7431, W844-E, and DKS-37-07 were categorized as highly resistant with rating about 3, indicating that good sources of sugarcane aphid resistance are available. In particular, Chlorophyll loss in the susceptible check (585) was 80%, however, in the above resistant lines the loss figures were <20%. Future studies will be conducted to determine the mechanisms of resistance in these promising lines.