Fine screening Solanum (potato) germplasm accessions for resistance to Colorado potato beetle

This study was conducted to investigate the utility of systematic screening at the genotype level within Solanum accessions highly resistant to the Colorado potato beetle. Evaluations of clonally replicated genotypes showed that most accessions reported to be uniform when screened as populations contained small but significant variation among genotypes for resistance to oviposition, larvae, and defoliation, differences for numbers of larvae being most common. Adult counts and percentage defoliation were not as useful in evaluating among-genotype variability in beetle resistance. Genotypes of S. pinnatisectum WRF 343 and S. tarijense PI 473227 were the most uniformly and highly resistant to Colorado potato beetle. Genotypes of S. berthaultii PI 473331, S. chacoense PI 473405, and S. tarijense PI 473336 were moderately to highly resistant, and genotypes of S. bukasovii PI 473494 and S. canasense PI 230511 were uniformly susceptible to Colorado potato beetle. Nonparametric correlation analyses indicated that number of egg masses, small larvae, large larvae, and defoliation scores were positively correlated, negatively correlated, or not correlated, depending on the species. One generation of selection attempting to segregate resistance and susceptibility in nearly uniform and highly resistant S. pinnatisectum WRF 343 resulted in ''divergent'' populations that could not be distinguished from each other or the base population. Thus, through genotype (''fine'') screening and selection, we showed that some existing populations are virtually pure for extreme resistance. Use of individuals from such families would make screening breeding populations more efficient, and reduce the risk of losing resistance genes that have non-dominant effects. Fine screening, recurrent selection, and maintenance of such elite populations is recommended as an extension of population-based evaluation usually done by genebanks.