Resistance of tomato genotypes with high level of acylsugars to Tetranychus evansi Baker & Pritchard

Abstract

The Lycopersicon pennellii accession LA716 has been used as a source of arthropod pest resistance in tomato breeding programs due the high contents of acylsugars presents in its leaflets. We investigated the relationship between high foliar acylsugar contents and repellence to spider mite Tetranychus evansi in plants with contrasting acylsugar levels, selected from F2 and BC1F2 (= F2 of the first backcross towards L. esculentum) generations derived from the interespecific cross L. esculentum 'TOM-584' ;´; L. pennellii LA716. Mite resistance was assessed by a repellence test. Plants selected for high levels of acylsugars in leaflets had mite repellence levels similar to that of LA716. The high correlation confirmed the association between high acylsugar levels and mite repellence.