Evaluation of Pakistani Wheat against Aphid, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) under Favourable Weather Conditions in Peshawar, Pakistan
Evaluation of Pakistani Wheat against Aphid, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) under Favourable Weather Conditions in Peshawar, Pakistan
Usman Khalique*, Muhammad Zahid, Noor Fatima, Syed Jawad Ahmad Shah
ABSTRACT
Aphid is a serious pest of wheat crop which causes significant damage to wheat production in Pakistan. The present study was conducted to evaluate 125 Pakistani wheat varieties under high aphid infestation period from February to March, 2020 at experimental area of Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Peshawar. Our study showed that seasonal mean population of aphid was found maximum on NIA Sarang (81.5 aphids per tiller) statistically higher than any other wheat variety while minimum mean aphid population (15.8 aphids per tiller) was recorded on Bathoor-08. Aphid resistance index values ranged widely among all 125 wheat varieties; 20 were moderately resistant having aphid population range 15 - 21. 41 varieties were lowly resistant having 22 - 31 aphids per tiller throughout the study. Similarly, 34 varieties showed a lowly susceptible response with 32 - 42 aphids per tiller and 16 varieties hosted 43 - 53 aphids per tiller on an average and graded as moderately susceptible. Moreover, 14 varieties were found highly susceptible having 54 - 82 aphids per tiller. Correlational analysis of S. graminum population with meteorological factors revealed that relative humidity (R.H) had significantly negative impact on aphid population. Whereas, temperature had significantly positive correlation with aphid population on NARC 2009 (r = 0.58Min. Temp., r = 0.7Max. Temp.). The data of Pakistani wheat varieties with least population density of aphid would be helpful to make varietal selections for future breeding programs. Further, it is necessary to identify the resistant genes in these varieties that could be incorporated in future wheat cultivars.
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