Bridging Conventional and Molecular Genetics of Sorghum Insect Resistance

Abstract Sustainable production of sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, depends on effective control of insect pests as they continue to compete with humans for the sorghum crop. Insect pests are a major constraint in sorghum production, and nearly 150 insect species are serious pests of this crop worldwide and cause more than 9 % loss annually. Annual losses due to insect pests in sorghum have been esti-mated to be $1,089 million in the semiarid tropics (ICRISAT Annual report 1991. International Crop Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics. Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India, 1992), but differing in magnitude on a regional basis. Key insect pests in the USA include the greenbug, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani); sorghum midge, Stenodiplosis sorghicola (Coquillett); and various caterpillars in the Southern areas. For example, damage by greenbug to sorghum is estimated to cost US pro-ducers $248 million annually. The major insect pests of sorghum on a global basis are the greenbug, sorghum midge, sorghum shoot fl y ( Atherigona soccata Rond.), stem borers ( Chilo partellus Swin. and Busseola fusca Fuller), and armyworm