Characterizing soybean resistance to the kudzu bug

Abstract

The kudzu bug (KZB), Megacopta sp., is a newly invasive pest of soybean in the U.S.A. originating from Asia. Several screening techniques were used to identify soybean host plant resistance (HPR) to KZB. ‘Benning’ near-isogenic lines with different combinations of resistance quantitative trait loci (QTLs) to defoliating insects from PI 229358 and PI 227687 were screened for KZB resistance using a field cage. KZBs did not show preference to soybean lines with QTLs M, G, H and E for resistance to leaf-chewing insects. Additionally, 30 plant introductions (PIs) with resistance to soybean aphid or silverleaf whitefly were screened in the field. Wash-bucket sampling accurately quantified the number of KZBs on plants, and rating stem lesions provided a measure of season long insect damage. Two lines, PI 567336A and PI 567598B, were identified as resistant to KZB in the field and confirmed to have antibiosis resistance with a no-choice assay.