Influence of the Glandless Genes in Cotton on Feeding, Oviposition, and Development of the Boll Weevil in the Laboratory123

Abstract

In feeding tests boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, fed significantly less on the glandless cotton lines Acala 4-42-77 GS, Atlas 182 GS, DPSL GS, Stardel GS, Stoneville 7A GS, and Wescot GS than on the glanded parent lines. In oviposition tests, the weevils laid significantly more eggs on Acala 4-42-77 GS, Vescot GS, and Coker 100A GS than on their glanded counterparts, but there was no difference in oviposition rate among the 9 other paired lines. In antibiosis tests, significantly larger weevils were reared from reconstituted lyophilized square powder diets made from 38-6 GS, Rex Smoothleaf GS, and Stardel GS than from similar diets made from the glanded parent lines. However, similar diets made from Acala 4-42-77 GS produced weevils weighing significantly less than those from glanded Acala 4-42-77. There was no significant difference in weevil developmental period between the glandless and glanded pairs studied. The results suggest that the glandless genes may not create increased susceptibility to the boll weevil, especially if care is exercised in the selection of the genetic background in which the genes will be placed.