Legume Research

The legume pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), is one of the most damaging crop pests, including pigeonpea. Host plant resistance is a component of pest management and therefore, we standardize a nylon bag No-Choice Bioassay technique to screen for resistance to H. armigera under field conditions.

Pigeonpea plants were infested with 24 h old 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 larvae per plant inside the nylon bag. Observations were recorded on pod damage, larval survival, larval weight, pupation, adult emergence and fecundity after 10 days.

Pigeonpea varieties AL-201, H03-41 and PAU-881 exhibited lower pod damage (15.89 to 19.77%) and larval weight (12.02 to 13.82 mg). The expression of resistance to H. armigera was associated with trichome density, pod wall thickness and higher amount of phenolic compounds and condensed tannins. Lower trichome density and thin pod walls and higher amounts of sugars rendered the varieties Paras, Manak and Pussa-992 more susceptible to H. armigera. Nylon bag assay can be used to screen and select pigeonpea cultivars for resistance to H. armigera.