Journal of Economic Entomology Advance Access published October 16, 2015 Journal of Economic Entomology, 2015, 1–7 doi: 10.1093/jee/tov275 Plant Resistance Research article Cotton Square Morphology Offers New Insights into Host Plant Resistance to Cotton Fleahopper (Hemiptera: Miridae) in Upland Cotton Laura Ann McLoud,1,2 Steven Hague,1 Allen Knutson,3 C. Wayne Smith,1 and Michael Brewer4 1Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, 370 Olsen Blvd., TAMU 2474, College Station, TX 77843, (
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected]) 2Corresponding author, e-mail:
[email protected], 3Department of Entomology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 17360 Coit Rd., Dallas, TX 75252 and 4Department of Entomology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 10345 Hwy 44, Corpus Christi, TX 78406. Received 22 May 2015; Accepted 24 August 2015 Abstract Cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae), is a piercing–sucking pest of cot- ton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) that feeds preferentially on developing flower buds, called squares. Heavy infesta- tions cause yield reductions that result from abscission of squares damaged by the cotton fleahopper feeding. Antixenosis, or nonpreference, has been reported as a mechanism of host plant resistance in cotton to cotton fleahopper. Square structure, particularly the placement of the reproductive tissues, and stylet penetration were investigated as factors that influence resistance to cotton fleahopper in cotton lines derived from crosses with Pilose, a cultigen of upland cotton resistant to cotton fleahopper, and backcrossed with high-yielding, suscepti- ble lines.