An improved infestation technique using eggs of the millet head miner (Heliocheilus albipunctella) (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) in millet resistance screening

The millet head miner moth, Heliocheilus albipunctella (De Joannis) (Lepido ptera: Noctuidae), is an important pest of pearl millet, Pennisetum glaucum , (L.) R. Br., in Sub-Saharan Africa and causes severe crop losses. Damage to the panicles is direct and caused by developing larvae. Management techn iques are being developed among which is host plant resistance. Youm and Ku mar (1995) reported little progress in identifying resistance due to lack o f a repeatable and reliable screening method. Efforts for the past 5 years have been devoted to developing such a technique. Youm (1997) reported an i mproved technique based on the use of larvae where 35-45 larvae were effici ent in causing 51-60% damage corresponding to a rating of 6 on a susceptibl e genotype. Though the use of larvae was promising, the present research sh ows that the use of eggs is more efficient than using neonate larvae. The u se of 40 eggs per panicle resulted in 51-80% damage corresponding to a mean damage rating ranging from 5.5 to 8.4 across several genotypes. A higher a nd more consistent infestation was obtained with eggs than larvae. Finally, egg handling was easier and infestation cheaper than using larvae. This te chnique should significantly improve screening millet for reaction to the h ead miner. It is recommended for use for future resistance screening of gen otypes against the millet head miner to avoid the release of highly suscept ible varieties on-farm.