Screening of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) genotypes for resistance against the red spider mite (Tetranychus macfarlanei Baker and Pritchard)
1Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala Agricultural University, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala- 695522. 2All India Network Project on Agricultural Acarology, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur, Kerala- 680656. 3Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala Agricultural University, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala-695522. Corresponding e-mail: neena.lenin@kau.in
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2026.v28i01.28
To assess the resistance of 25 brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) genotypes against the red spider mite, Tetranychus macfarlanei Baker and Pritchard, a field study was carried out at the Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani. Significant differences in mite infestation were observed when genotypes were evaluated in the field via artificial inoculation. The mean mite population per leaf varied significantly between genotypes, ranging from 7.04 in ‘Anjamile Local’ to 23.93 in ‘VRM-1’. The genotypes were divided into six resistance groups based on mean and standard deviation values within the population. While ‘VRM-1’, ‘Pusa Krishna’, ‘VJ Crystal’, ‘KAU Local’, and ‘Nandyala Local’ were classified as susceptible (20.53 < X?? ? 25.40), ‘Pusa Uttam’, ‘Poluru Vankaya’, ‘Anjamile Local’, ‘FM-183’, ‘Surya’, and ‘Arka Anand’ were classed as resistant (10.79 ? X?? > 5.92). To determine the host factors responsible for resistance, the biology of the mite was examined across five resistant and one susceptible genotype. The resistant genotypes identified in this study serve as promising genetic resources for breeding programmes aimed at developing mite-resistant brinjal cultivars adaptable to varied agro-climatic regions.
