Arthropod-Plant Interactions (2015) 9, 373-382

Mukesh K. Dhillon and D.P. Chaudhary (2015)
Biochemical interactions for antibiosis mechanism of resistance to Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) in different maize types
Arthropod-Plant Interactions 9 (4), 373-382
Abstract: Variation in performance and abundance of herbivorous insects is attributed to variation in host plant quality, being determined by nutritional composition, allelochemistry and specific anatomical features. Present studies were undertaken to gain an understanding on the role of different biochemical factors in plant defense to Chilo partellus in diverse maize types with variable morphological and favorable agronomic traits. All the white and yellow kernel maize genotypes tested had significantly lower deadhearts and more adverse effects on one or the other biological parameters of C. partellus, as compared to the resistant check, CML 334. The phenolic acids viz., ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid, and the nutritional biochemical factors such as protein, oil, chlorophyll-b, total chlorophyll and total carotenoid showed significant negative correlations, while total sugars and starch had positive correlation with pupal period of C. partellus. Oil content showed significant positive correlation with larval weight, and chlorophyll-a negative correlation with larval and pupal weights of C. partellus. Iron and zinc contents in maize seedlings showed significant positive correlation with pupal weight, whereas zinc content showed negative correlation with plant deadhearts, larval survival and adult emergence of C. partellus. Present studies show that different maize types expressed antibiosis mechanism of resistance to spotted stem borer, while the amount of phenolic acids and the nutritional biochemical constituents were highly variable in their seedlings, suggesting that the maize plant defense against C. partellus could be due to concentration of particular biochemical constituent and/or interaction with different biochemical compounds.
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Database assignments for author(s): Mukesh K. Dhillon

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
resistance/tolerance/defence of host

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Chilo partellus	Maize/corn (Zea mays)