Searching for wheat resistance to aphids and wheat bulb fly in the historical Watkins and Gediflux wheat collections

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Aradottir, G. I., Martin, J. L., Clark, S. J., Pickett, J. A. and Smart, L. E. 2017. Searching for wheat resistance to aphids and wheat bulb fly in the historical Watkins and Gediflux wheat collections. Annals of Applied Biology - AAB. 170 (2), pp. 179-188. https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12326

AuthorsAradottir, G. I., Martin, J. L., Clark, S. J., Pickett, J. A. and Smart, L. E.
Abstract

Insect pests can reduce wheat yield by direct feeding and transmission of plant viruses. Here we report results from laboratory and field phenotyping studies on a wide range of wheat, including landraces from the Watkins collection deriving from before the green revolution, more modern cultivars from the Gediflux collection (north‐western Europe) and modern UK Elite varieties, for resistance to the bird cherry‐oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (Homoptera: Aphididae) and the English grain aphid, Sitobion avenae (Homoptera: Aphididae). A total of 338 lines were screened for R. padi and 340 lines for S. avenae. Field trials were also conducted on 122 Watkins lines to identify wheat bulb fly, Delia coarctata, preference on these landraces. Considerable variation was shown in insect performance among and within different wheat collections, with reduced susceptibility in a number of varieties, but phenotyping did not identify strong resistance to aphids or wheat bulb fly. Field trials showed within collection differences in aphid performance, with fewer aphids populating lines from the Watkins collection. This differs from development data in laboratory bioassays and suggests that there is a pre‐alighting cue deterring aphid settlement and demonstrates differences in aphid preference and performance on older plants in the field compared with seedlings in the laboratory, highlighting the need for phenotyping for aphid resistance at different plant growth stages. No association was identified between performance of the different insect species on individual varieties, potentially suggesting different nutritional requirements or resistance mechanisms.

Keywordsaphid; Delia coarctata; insect resistance; Rhopalosiphum padi; Sitobion avenae; Triticum aestivum; wheat; wheat bulb fly
Year of Publication2017
JournalAnnals of Applied Biology - AAB
Journal citation170 (2), pp. 179-188
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12326
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Funder project or codeWGIN
Wheat Improvement Strategic Programme
Enhancing diversity in UK wheat through a public sector prebreeding programme
The Defra wheat genetic improvement network (WGIN) [2003-2009]
Publisher's version
Copyright license
CC BY
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online12 Dec 2016
Publication process dates
Accepted29 Jul 2016
PublisherWiley
ISSN0003-4746

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