Evaluation of various cultivars of pepper for resistance against pepper weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

摘要

Three studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an important component, varietal resistance, of a potential integrated pest management program for the pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii Cano. In all varietal resistance studies, 'Hot Cherry' and 'Habanero' had the lowest percentages of PW infestation among the 11 varieties studied. 'Jalapeno' was moderately resistant to PW. 'Indian Long Hot' had greater percentages of PW infested fruits than all of the other varieties. Nevertheless in Study 2, the mean percent infested fruits in 'Indian Long Hot' did not differ significantly from that of the 'Santa Fe' variety. 'Indian Long Hot' produced more biomass and more flowers than the other pepper varieties in spite of its significantly higher percentage of pepper weevil infestation. Mean number of pepper weevil infested peppers showed significant positive correlation with the total number of peppers. This research provides important information for the development of an effective IPM system for the PW.