Screening of Various Genotypes of Castor for Resistance against Castor Leafhopper, Empoasca flavescens Fabricius
Chaand Josan
Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, CCS HAU, Hisar, India.
Deepika Kalkal
Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, CCS HAU, Hisar, India.
Jai Parkash *
Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, CCS HAU, Hisar, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A screening trial with 10 castor genotypes to assess their relative reaction to leafhoppers (Empoasca flavescens) was conducted at CCSHAU, Regional Research Station, Bawal during the Kharif season, 2019-20. Among the 10 genotypes, leafhopper population varied from 2.3 to 8.3. Based on leafhopper population and hopper burn score, the triple bloom genotypes Maharaja-9 and GCH-7 were found tolerant to leafhopper whereas the single bloom genotype DCH-177 was highly susceptible. The phenols content in the castor leaves had a significant negative correlation with leafhopper population and hopper burn score while total carbohydrates present in the leaves had a significant positive correlation with leafhopper population and hopper burn score. The intensity of bloom and phenols and carbohydrates content were found to play a major role in the infestation of castor leafhopper.
Keywords: Castor, genotypes, leafhopper