Screening of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) varieties sown in autumn for resistance to cotton jassid, Amrasca bigutulla bibutulla (Ishida)

The study was conducted to screen varieties of brinjal, Solanum melongena L. sown in autumn for resistance to cotton jassid, Amrasca bigutulla bigutulla (Ishida). Brinjal seedlings of nine varieties, viz. Bemisal, Black Beauty, Black Pearl, Dilnasheen, Hybrid 888, Hybrid 3715, Hybrid Shilpa, Nirala and Round Black were grown in pots and transplanting was done on September 04, 2011. Experiment was planned in a randomized complete block design. Number of jassids (adults + nymphs) were counted in early morning hours on the underside of three leaves from each plant by randomly selecting two plants from each of the two middle rows of plots. Jassids were counted from three leaves, i.e. one from the upper one third, one from the middle one third and one from the lower one third of each plant. Highest number of the cotton jassid was observed on the Black Beauty variety, whereas varieties Nirala and Hybrid 3715 had the lowest number of jassid per leaf on most of the sampling dates. Seasonal mean number of jassid per leaf on different varieties was in the order; Black Beauty (14.7 plus minus 0.4) greater than Dilnasheen (3.8 plus minus 0.17) greater than Hybrid Shilpa = Round Black (3.3 plus minus 0.2) greater than Bemisal (3.0 plus minus 0.16) greater than Hybrid 888 (2.7 plus minus 0.13) greater than Black Pearl (2.510.19) greater than Hybrid 3715 (2.4 plus minus 0.19) greater than Nirala (2.3 plus minus 0.13). In this respect Black Beauty was considered the most susceptible variety bearing the highest number of jassid per leaf (14.6 plus minus 0.4). Subsequently, Dilnasheen, Hybrid Shilpa, Round Black, Bemisal, with jassid number from 3.3 pplus minus 0.2 to 3.8 plus minus 0.17 per leaf were moderately resistant and Hybrid 888, Black Pearl, Hybrid 3715 and Nirala, with jassid population ranging from 2.3 to 2.7 per leaf, were resistant against jassid. It is concluded that all the varieties screened, except Black Beauty, can be part of integrated management strategy for cotton jassid on brinjal. Jassid per leaf on all the varieties started to build from 49 days after transplanting (DAP) and reached a peak on 63 DAP. Thereafter number per leaf decreased up 84 DAP.