Hairy canola deters flea beetle feeding
Date
2007-03-01
Authors
Soroka, J.
Gruber, M.
Holowachuk, J.
Grenkow, L.
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Abstract
Flea beetle, chiefly Phyllotreta crucifrerae, behaviour and feeding on lines of Brassica napus canola with elevated levels of trichomes on true leaves were compared with feeding on leaves of parent seedlings. The beetles became agitated and seldom settled down to feed when exposed to the hairy seedlings. Levels of feeding on the new lines were measured in a laboratory trial at Saskatoon, and in field trials at Saskatoon (2005, 2006) and Lethbridge (2006). Initially, feeding levels were lower on cotyledons of the recombinants than on those of the parental line, possibly because of the increased angle of recombinant cotyledons relative to the soil surface. As cotyledons became more horizontal on recombinant seedlings, feeding upon them increased, but feeding on true leaves of the transgenic lines was less than on true leaves of parental lines The
decreased feeding on true leaves of recombinant seedlings is a first step in developing canola resistance to the insect.
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flea beetles, Brassica napus, trichomes, host plant resistance, reduced herbivory
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Soils and Crops Workshop