Feeding, Development, and Tungro Virus Transmission by the Green Leafhopper, Nephotettix virescens (Distant) (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) After Selection on Resistant Rice Cultivars

Abstract

After selection on highly resistant, ‘Pankhari 203,’ and moderately resistant, ‘IR8,’ ‘Ptb 8,’ ‘TAPL #796,’ and ‘Moddai Karuppan,’ rice cultivars for 19 generations, Nephotettix virescens (Distant) survival increased and duration of nymphal period decreased. On ‘Pankhari 203’ and ‘IR8’ there was a shift from xylem feeding to increased feeding in the phloem, but phloem feeding was still significantly less than that of the unselected N. virescens colony on a susceptible cultivar. In spite of the high survival after 19 generations of selection on the resistant cultivars, increase in tungro virus vectored by N. virescens occurred only on ‘IR8.’