Stability of Green Peach Aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) Resistance in Wild Potato Species

Abstract

In a series of 39 field and laboratory experiments, relative resistance to green peach aphid (GPA), Myzus persicae (Sulzer), was determined for 82 potato accessions representing 42 wild species. Field experiments were done at two locations in Minnesota and one location each in New York and Peru; laboratory experiments were done in Minnesota, England, and Peru. Aphid populations used were of five origins: Minnesota, New York, England, Puerto Rico, and Peru. Stability of green peach aphid resistance was consistent across test locations and GPA populations. No accession differed significantly from its overall mean resistance index in more than one test environment. Most significant deviations occurred in experiments with Peruvian and Puerto Rican GPA populations, although there was little evidence that either population represented biotypes different from the GPA populations of Minnesota, New York, or England. Apparently, if GPA-resistant breeding lines were developed, they could be used widely and this resistance would prove stable.