Studies on the relative resistance of some promising accessions of greengram, Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek against the pulse beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus Fabricius

摘要

The pulse beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus is a serious pest of almost all stored edible pulses. An estimated 30 to 40% damage has been recorded in different pulses. The various methods of checking the pest viz., physical and chemical methods do not yield satisfactory levels of control. In this context, evolving resistant varieties to tackle the pest is considered a better option as it is non-chemical and economical. Twenty-five promising accessions of greengram were subjected to an intensive screening technique under no choice conditions. Based on the results, PLS 308, LM 103, COGG 912 and 1C 39412 were found to be highly resistant to C. maculatus. Further, these accessions were characterized by prolonged developmental period and adult longevity coupled with lesser adult weight and percentage seed loss. Hence, these accessions can be used as gene sources in conventional breeding programmes as well as molecular breeding. The details of the experiment and the results are discussed in this paper.