Antixenosis and antibiosis based resistance of chili pepper to melon aphid

Abstract

The melon aphid or cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii Glover) is one of the major pests of pepper. Chemical based crop protection is the major way to control aphid until now. The use of resistant varieties may help to reduce the use of insecticides, together with Integrated Pest Management. The objective of this research was to identify the antixenosis and antibiosis based resistance of melon aphids in several pepper genotypes that may be explored as sources of resistance in aphid resistance breeding program of pepper. We used choice and no-choice test, and detached leaf based experiments. Antixenosis based resistance was detected as shown by significant number of aphid per leaf, total aphid per plant, and total winged aphid per plant. Antibiosis based resistance was also detected as shown by significant difference in longevity time, reproduction time, number of aphid progeny per day, and the fecundity of the melon aphid among genotypes.