Resistance in Triticum aestivum, Triticum monococcum and Triticum turgidum to Rhopalosiphum padi.
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Date
2026-01-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Abstract
The bird cherry-oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is a cosmopolitan species that attacks all the major cereals, causing the yield loss directly by removing nutrients and indirectly by vectoring plant virus diseases. The study aimed to explore the potential antixenosis and antibiosis resistance to R. padi in nine cultivars of different wheat Triticum L. species and subspecies. The content of phenolic acids and flavonoids in the leaves of wheat cultivars was also determined. The wheat cultivars studied differed in susceptibility to R. padi: Triticum turgidum subsp. turanicum “Khorasan” (highly susceptible) > T. turgidum subsp. dicoccum “Bondka” > T. turgidum subsp. dicoccum “Lamela” and T. monococcum “Joanka” > T. monococcum “Pagatula” and T. aestivum “Torridon” > T. turgidum subsp. durum ‘Wintergold’and T. aestivum subsp. spelta “Wirtas” > T. aestivum “Galerist” (partially resistant). Neither of the studied wheat cultivars possessed antibiotic resistance to R. padi. No correlation occurred between the content of phenolic compounds and aphid performance and probing behaviour. The differences in aphid performance and settling and probing behaviour on wheat cultivars can be attributed to antixenosis factors, probably of a chemical nature, in mesophyll and/or phloem and/or the variation in nutritional quality of the phloem sap.
KEY MESSAGES
The susceptibility of wheat to Rhopalosiphum padi infestation is species- and cultivar-dependent.
Phenolic acids and flavonoids in wheat leaf tissues do not affect R.padi development and probing behaviour.
Antixenosis factors in the mesophyll probably exist in Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccum cv. “Bondka”, T. monococcum cvs. “Joanka” and “Pagatula”, T. turgidum subsp. durum cv. “Wintergold” and T. aestivum cv. “Galerist”.
Antixenosis factors in the phloem probably exist in Triticum aestivum “Galerist”, T. turgidum subsp. durum cv. “Wintergold”, and T. monococcum cv. “Joanka”.
No antibiosis mechanisms exist in any wheat cultivar studied.
Description
Keywords
aphid probing behavior, EPG, antixenosis, wheat phenolics
Citation
The European Zoological Journal 2026, 93(1), 127-152