Screening methods of maize germplasm for resistance against maize stem borers: A review

Abstract

Screening of maize germplasm for resistance against stem borers is pre-requisite for the development of resistant varieties/hybrids. Leaf injury rating, larval development period, larval weight and stem tunnel length are some of the parameters used for measuring antibiosis, while ovipositional preference, number of egg masses/eggs per plant are the parameters for antixenosis. Leaf injury rating after artificial infestation of plants by laboratory reared pest has been in use for screening the germplasm world over. Recently, several studies have been conducted in which a large number of germplasms are screened for resistance using their antibiotic and antixenotic traits and a robust susceptibility index is developed utilizing their results.