Wheat Yield in a Tolerant Winter Wheat Line Infested by Hessian Fly (Mayetiola destructor)

The Hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor, is a harmful pest of wheat (Triticum aestivum). Pioneer variety 25R78 is putatively tolerant, meaning that the plant can survive successful Hessian fly infestation with reduced growth effects. To understand if Hessian fly-tolerance in wheat results in reduced yield effects and to analyze the economic feasibility of tolerant wheat as a Hessian fly control method, this study focused on analyzing the effect of infestation on tolerant wheat yield. This study analyzed tolerant Pioneer variety 25R78, resistant Pioneer brand variety 25R32, and susceptible Pioneer brand variety 25R47 through harvest. Treated plants were infested using a plastic cover and allowing 1 - 2 female flies to lay eggs for two hours. We measured head, fertile head number and tiller number. Seeds were analyzed by measuring total seed number and weight, as well as average seed number and weight. Tolerant and resistant plants showed no significant effects on yield in comparison to susceptible wheat. The infested tolerant plants were comparable in yield to infested resistant plants. Therefore, we propose that tolerance incorporated into wheat varieties will lower selection pressure on Hessian fly populations and increase the durability of these wheat lines.