Characterization of new sources of mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) resistance to bruchids, Callosobruchus spp. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

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Abstract

The bruchid beetles Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) and C. maculatus (F.) are destructive pests of stored mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek). The development of resistant mungbean varieties to manage bruchids is a major breeding objective. In the present study, we investigated the characteristics of resistance to C. chinensis and C. maculatus in two new resistant mungbean accessions V1128 and V2817, and two previously reported resistant accessions V2709 and V2802, compared to the susceptible mungbean cultivar, KPS1. Evaluation for resistance to both bruchid species using whole and decorticated seeds revealed that V1128 and V2817 were free from damage, V2709 and V2802 showed partial damage with low or moderate number of bruchids emerging from seeds, and KPS1 showed complete damage with the highest number of bruchids emerged. Comparison of the seeds harvested at seed filling, early maturity and full maturity stages revealed that the percentage of damaged seeds from resistant accessions was lower at all stages compared with KPS1. V1128 and V2817 showed complete resistance against both bruchids regardless of when their seeds were harvested, while resistance in V2709 and V2802 were most pronounced at full maturity, and KPS1 was totally damaged at all times tested. These results suggest that the chemical factor(s) conferring resistance is synthesized as early as the seed filling stage. Evaluation of resistance using artificial seeds showed that increasing the percentage of resistant seed powder adversely affected bruchid growth and development. The number of adults emerging from seeds and number of damaged seeds decreased while adult developmental period increased as the proportion of resistant seed powder increased. The weight of emerging male and female adults of C. maculatus was lighter than those from the seeds containing susceptible seed powder alone. However, C. chinensis adults were not affected by the same test. The results suggest that biochemical(s) in cotyledon tissue are responsible for the resistance and the seed coat had no protective role against the bruchids. Although all four resistant accessions evaluated are useful for mungbean breeding, V1128 and V2817 show complete resistance to both C. chinensis and C. maculatus. Thus, these two new resistant sources may be the most effective for breeding purposes.

Introduction

Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] is an important legume crop of Asia and a major component of many cropping systems. Mungbean seeds are rich in protein and amino acids, thus serve as a valuable protein source for human consumption. Pods and sprouts from mungbean are also eaten as a vegetable and are a source of vitamins and minerals.

Loss of seed yield in mungbean and other legume crops during storage due to bruchids (seed beetles) is a very serious problem for farmers and traders (Rees, 2004). Nahdy (1994) estimated economic losses attributed to bruchid infestation in stored grain legumes to be 35% in Central America, 7–13% in South America, and as high as 73% in Kenya. Bruchid infestation results in substantial reduction in the quantity and quality of the seed. The most destructive bruchid species to mungbean are Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) (azuki bean beetle) and C. maculatus (F.) (cowpea beetle), both belonging to order Coleoptera, family Bruchidae. Although bruchids start attacking seeds of host plants in the field, there is only minor damage. However, when the infested seeds that harbored bruchid larvae at varying stages of development are stored, the adults emerge and lay eggs on neighboring seeds (Talekar, 1988). These secondary infestations are very damaging and often lead to complete loss of a seed lot within a few months. As a consequence of infestation, seed lots become warm resulting in quality loss and mould growth (Rees, 2004). Damaged seeds are unsuitable for human consumption, and cannot be used for agricultural and commercial purposes. Chemicals can control bruchids, but economic, health and environmental considerations favor the use of resistant varieties to manage these pests.

Few sources of bruchid resistance have been identified in mungbean. Fujii and Miyazaki (1987) reported complete resistance to C. chinensis in wild mungbean [V. radiata var. sublobata (Roxb.) Verdc.] accession TC1966. TC1966 also possessed complete resistance against C. maculatus, C. phaseoli (Gyllenhal) and Zabrotes subfasciatus Boheman (Fujii et al., 1989). Talekar and Lin (1992) reported moderate to high resistance to C. chinensis in cultivated mungbean accessions V2709 and V2802 and the resistance was due to antibiosis in the cotyledons. Somta et al. (2007) showed that the resistance to C. chinensis and C. maculatus in the two mungbean accessions is determined by maternal genotypes. Lambrides and Imrie (2000) reported resistance to C. chinensis, C. maculatus and C. phaseoli in wild mungbean sublobata accessions ACC23 and ACC41 from Australia, although they believed that the thick texture layer present on the seeds of these accessions may have acted as an oviposition deterrent and prevented these seeds from being damaged. To prevent breakdown of the resistance by bruchid biotypes or strains in these sources, incorporation of multiple resistance into a mungbean cultivar is desirable but to offer an alternative to plant breeders and entomologists, new sources of resistance must be identified.

The objectives of the present study were to compare the characteristics of C. chinensis and C. maculatus resistance in two newly identified resistant accessions of cultivated mungbean, V1128 and V2817, with previously reported resistant sources V2709 and V2802 and a susceptible cultivar.

Section snippets

Sources of seeds

Four bruchid-resistant mungbean landrace accessions namely V1128, V2709, V2802 and V2817, and one susceptible released cultivar in Thailand, ‘Kamphaeng Saen 1’ (hereafter called KPS1) were used in this study. V1128 and V2709 originated from India, while accessions V2802 and V2817 came, respectively, from the Philippines and Nigeria. V1128 and V2817 were identified to be resistant by researchers at the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, Taiwan (AVRDC, 1990) and by Mr. P.

Resistance of mature seeds

Results of bruchid infestation on whole seeds are summarized in Table 1. There was a significant difference in the number of C. chinensis eggs laid on seeds among different mungbean accessions. Least eggs were laid on V2817 (3.32 eggs per seed) but this was sufficient to evaluate for resistance in this accession. The number of eggs laid by C. maculatus was not statistically different among accessions. The resistant accessions had zero or a low number of damaged seeds and no or a low number of

Discussion

Previous studies of resistance to bruchids in V1128, V2709 and V2802 produced conflicting results (Talekar and Lin, 1992; Imrie and Lambrides, 1998). Talekar and Lin (1992) reported that V2709 and V2802 were resistant to C. chinensis but Imrie and Lambrides (1998) reported that these two accessions and V1128 were susceptible to both C. chinensis and C. maculatus. Here, we found a high level of resistance in all three resistant accessions as well as the newly identified resistant source V2817.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Project on Genetics and Breeding of Field Legumes for Thailand of the Thailand Research Fund, and the Project on Biotechnology for Varietal Development of Thai Mungbean of the Thailand's National Center for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering.

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