Response of some introduced and locally improved wheat and barley cultivars to infestation by three important insect pests in Ninava Province, North of Iraq

Abstract

A general surveys and field studies were conduct to investigate the relative susceptibility of some introduced and locally developed wheat and barley cultivars to infestation by Eurygaster integriceps put . Cephus pygmaeus L. and Exaeretopus tritici William in rain fed region in Ninava province during 1998- 2002 . Results indicated that infestation by the three pests occurred on all wheat and barley cultivars with significant variation depending on locations and seasons of the experiment . The lowest infestation levels of sunn pest and sawfly were recorded on the Waha wheat cultivar . Barley cultivars Jazira-2 and Zenbaka showed low response to both insect pests too . Results also indicated that all wheat and barley cultivars were infested by the soft scale insect E .tritici . The dry wheat D7 ,the bread wheat Rabeaa and the barley cultivar Arta showed less susceptibility than other cultivars to infestation by this pest .The feasibility of incorporating the promising cultivars in the management program of cereal crops in the region was discussed .