Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #286049

Title: Inheritance of resistance to pear psylla nymphal feeding in pear (Pyrus communis L.) of European origin

Author
item Bell, Richard

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/11/2013
Publication Date: 4/1/2013
Citation: Bell, R.L. 2013. Inheritance of resistance to pear psylla nymphal feeding in pear (Pyrus communis L.) of European origin. HortScience. 48:425-427.

Interpretive Summary: The pear psylla is a serious pest of pear throughout North America and Europe. The insect has rapidly developed resistance to commonly used pesticides, including organophosphates and pyrethroids, and biological controls are not always sufficiently effective. Inhibition of nymphal feeding has been identified as a key component of resistance, being correlated with mortality, delayed development of egg-laying. Breeding for resistance would be aided by knowledge of the inheritance and relative breeding values of resistant parents. Nine seedling populations derived from crosses between five resistant European cultivars were used in this study. There were no significant differences among the progenies and controls in mean proportion of live nymphs after two days; however, two crosses involving ‘Erabasma’ exhibited significantly less feeding, indicating that ‘Erabasma’ transmitted resistance to a greater degree than the other four resistant parents. The use of ‘Erabasma’ as a parent in breeding is recommended for the development of resistant cultivars, which would reduce grower costs and enhance the sustainability of the pear industry.

Technical Abstract: The pear psylla is a serious pest of pear throughout North America and Europe. Inhibition of nymphal feeding has been identified as a key component of resistance, being correlated with mortality, delayed development of egg-laying. Breeding for resistance would be aided by knowledge of the inheritance and relative breeding values of resistant parents. Nine seedling populations derived from crosses between five resistant European P. communis cultivars (‘Batjarka’, ‘Erabasma’, ‘Ilinjaca’, ‘Spina Carpi’ and ‘Zelinka’), a clone labeled ‘Obican Vodenac’, and two susceptible P. communis parents (‘Bartlett’ and ‘Sunrise’) were used in this study. The seedlings, ‘Bartlett’ as a susceptible control and NY10353 as a moderately resistant control, were assayed for short-term survival and nymphal feeding after an infestation period of two days. There were no significant differences among the progenies and controls in mean proportion of live nymphs after two days. The distributions of live and feeding nymphs indicated some dominance for susceptibility in some crosses. There were few significant differences among crosses in the proportion of actively feeding nymphs; however, the two crosses involving ‘Erabasma’ exhibited significantly less feeding, indicating that ‘Erabasma’ transmitted resistance to nymphal feeding to its progeny to a greater degree than the other four resistant parents.