REACTION OF PEPPER ACCESSIONS TO COCHINEAL (ORTHEZIA SPP.) ATTACK

M.A.C. Santos, A.S. Santos, J.L. Batista, M.M. Rêgo, E.R. Rêgo, O.H.S. Dietrich
Ornamental peppers belong to the family Solanaceae and originate from the American continent. Commercial cultivars are sensitive to different types of pests, such as cochineal (Orthezia spp.), which cause a reduction in productivity. A promising alternative to control this pest is the use of resistant cultivars, which can be found among the domesticated, semi-domesticated, or wild species. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reaction of different pepper accessions to cochineal attack. The study was carried out at Universidade Federal da Paraíba, using 11 accessions of pepper (Capsicum annuum and C. chinense) from the Active Germplasm Bank (AGB) of Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Incidence of cochineal was evaluated in the pepper accessions. Mean values of data and diversity among the accessions were estimated by Tocher’s optimization method and canonical variables. Five accessions were classified as susceptible, while 2 accessions (one of each evaluated species) did not show incidence, indicating that these were highly resistant. The other accessions segregated for incidence and severity of cochineal attack. Tocher’s method formed four groups and accessions were separated according to the degree of incidence and severity of the cochineal attack. The first canonical variable explained 96% of the total variance of the accessions and the groups formed by graphic dispersion were similar as those formed by Tocher’s method. The present variation among the pepper accessions, and between species sources of resistance can be utilized in future studies and breeding of Capsicum species.
Santos, M.A.C., Santos, A.S., Batista, J.L., Rêgo, M.M., Rêgo, E.R. and Dietrich, O.H.S. (2015). REACTION OF PEPPER ACCESSIONS TO COCHINEAL (ORTHEZIA SPP.) ATTACK. Acta Hortic. 1087, 467-472
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1087.63
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1087.63
Capsicum, Solonaceae, pest resistance, variability
English

Acta Horticulturae