Evaluation of cabbage genotypes Brassica oleracea (L.) var. acephala for resistance to Brevicoryne brassicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

• Grant number: 16/01879-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2016
• End date: March 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Edson Luiz Lopes Baldin
• Grantee: Matheus Gerage Sacilotto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas (FCA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The cabbage, Brassica oleracea (L.) var. acephala, is a vegetable of great economic importance, cultivated in so-called green belts of the Center-South region of Brazil, standing out as an important source of vitamins and minerals in human food. Among the several pests that attack the crop, Brevicoryne brassicae (L.) is described as a key pest, causing significant damages to the farmers that cultivate this cruciferous. In order to control this aphid, the farmers rely on successive sprayings of synthetic insecticides, which, when excessive, may cause undesirable consequences for the environment and consumer's health. This scenario has been stimulating the search for alternative methods of control to the chemical, as well as being more sustainable and efficient. The use of resistant genotypes is considered a valuable strategy in the integrated pest management (IPM), with potential to reduce the insect's populations under the economic injury level. This study will aim to characterize possible mechanisms of resistance from 37 cabbage genotypes to B. brassicae in greenhouse conditions. First, assays will be carried out to evaluate the infestation capacity by the aphid on the materials, in order to identify genotypes with potential resistance. To do so, the plants from the materials will be initially infested with 10 adult aphids, counting the total number of aphids recovered at seven, 14, and 21 days after the release of the insects. After, antibiosis assays will be carried out by evaluating 10 genotypes (eight with potential resistance and two susceptible). In this assay, 30 nymphs (newly hatched) will be individualized in clip-cages on the leaves of each material, observing daily several biological parameters of the insect in order to characterize the occurrence of antibiosis.