Description

Abstract: Resistance of peanut, Arachis hypogaea L., and wild species of Arachis, to many major arthropod pests has been identified in the United States. Plant resistance has been confirmed to the following species: thrips – Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom) and F. jusca (Hinds); the groundnut aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch; leafhoppers – Empoasca kern Pruthi and E. jabae (Harris); lepidopterous defoliators – Heliothis zea (Boddie), Spodaptera jrugiperda (J. E. Smith), and S. litura (F.); groundnut leaf miner, Aproaerema modicella (Deventer); southern corn rootworm, Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber; lesser cornstalk borer, Elasmopalpuslignosellus (Zeller); the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch; and podborers such as tennites of the genus Odontotermes, millipedes of the genus Peridontopyge and white grubs, Eulepida mashona Arrow. Several peanut cultivars are resistant to multiple pests. Many of the resistant genotypes of A. hypogaea are readily available for breeding and development into commercial cultivars. Related diploid species of the section Arachis are cross-compatible with the tetraploid A. hypogaea and offer the greatest potential for increasing cultivated peanut resistance to pests. Cooperative research among institutes, research organizations, and countries is needed to evaluate the known sources of resistance for cross-resistance to related species of insects.