Biochemical mechanisms of induced resistance to Chilo partellus in sorghum

Abstract

Host plant resistance is an important component of pest management, and information on contribution of different mechanisms of resistance is important for developing cultivars with resistance to the target pests. Therefore, induced resistance was studied in five sorghum genotypes against Chilo partellus by using infested and non-infested plants under greenhouse conditions. The activity of plant defensive enzymes and the secondary metabolites were recorded at 7 days after infestation and their induction varied among the genotypes and treatments. The resistant sorghum genotypes ICSV 700, IS 2205 and ICSV 93046 suffered lower leaf damage by the neonate larvae of C. partellus (damage rating (DR) 2.8–3.7) as compared to the susceptible checks, ICSV 1 and Swarna (DR 6.4 and 7.0, respectively). ICSV 700, IS 2205 and ICSV 93046 exhibited greater enzymatic activity [peroxidase (POD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and tyrosine ammonia lyase (TAL)] and had more amounts of phenols than the susceptible check, Swarna. This information will be useful for developing sorghum genotypes with resistance to C. partellus for sustainable crop production. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09670874.2022.2036863 .