Cotton Fleahopper (Pseudatomoscelis seriatus) (Hemiptera: Miridae) Damage in Gossypium Hirsutum: Breeding Efforts towards Increased Resistance.

Cotton fleahopper (Pseudatomoscelis seriatus) (Hemiptera:  Miridae) is a piercing-sucking insect that has emerged as a major pest in the Texas cotton industry over the past decade. Cotton fleahopper feeding results in square abscission and damage and subsequently, yield-loss. Previous studies in Gossypium hirsutum indicate that plant trichome density plays an important role in conferring resistance to cotton fleahopper, but the mechanism of resistance remains largely unknown. In this project, three families of potentially resistant lines and two high-yielding lines were screened for resistance to cotton fleahopper under field infestation levels. Genotypes within the three families exhibited pubescences ranging from smooth to pilose; of the high-yielding lines, one was smooth and the other hairy. Plants were screened in College Station and Corpus Christi, TX, and square-mapping was used as the primary tool by which to monitor the plants’ responses to cotton fleahopper feeding pressure. Plants in the potentially resistant families showed significantly less square loss than either of the high-yielding lines, and within those families, pilose and hairy plants showed significantly less square loss than smooth plants.