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Selection for Resistance to the Second Generation of the European Corn Borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Maize1
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1983
Year
GeneticsEntomologyCrop ImprovementPublic HealthSecond GenerationPlant-insect InteractionPest ManagementGenetic VariationPopulation GeneticsPlant BreedingEuropean Corn BorerBiologyStalk TunnellingPesticide ResistanceEvolutionary BiologyCrop ProtectionCrop ScienceInduced ResistancePest ControlPopulation DevelopmentMaize Composite PopulationsMedicineStalk Tunnel Length
Three maize composite populations with potential source of resistance for the second generation of the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner), responded significantly to recurrent selection. The length of the tunnel excavated by the larva in the stalk was used as the criterion for selection. As a result of three cycles of selection, stalk tunnelling in the three populations (PR-M02, PR-M02 × Mo-SQA, PR-Mo2 × Mo-SQB) was estimated by least squares to be reduced by 0.96, 0.84, and 1.48 cm per cycle, respectively. Based on estimates in cycle 0 and cycle 3, the three populations exhibited relative decreases in stalk tunnel length per cycle of 7.3, 5.3, and 12.7%, respectively. In the third cycle of selection of PR-M02 × Mo-SQB, larvae averaged 7.3 cm of tunneling per stalk—significantly less tunnelling than occurred in the resistant control (Pioneer Brand 3184, 9.6 cm). These improved populations should be a superior source of germplasm for developing resistance to the second generation of the European corn borer.