Variants, also known as biotypes, are genetic variations within an insect pest population that differ in their ability to utilize host plants. Many insect pests of pulses have developed variants that are virulent to previously resistant cultivars or tolerant to certain insecticides. The document discusses variants that have evolved in several major insect pests of pulses like the legume pod borer, soybean aphid, cowpea aphid, and spotted alfalfa aphid. It also outlines methods that can be used to slow the evolution of variants, such as rotating crops and insecticides and combining different resistance genes in new cultivars.

1. DEVELOPMENT OF VARIANTS IN
INSECT PESTS OF PULSES
G.Anitha
RAD/13-45
Dept.of Entomology
COA, Rajendranagar

2. WHAT ARE VARIANTS ?
 Also called host races, genotypes or biotypes, variants are
genetic variation among individuals within a population.
 Biotypes can be defined as “populations within an arthropod
species that differ in their ability to utilize a particular trait in
a particular plant genotype” (Smith, 2005).
 Variants vary in their virulence to a cultivar or response to
insecticidal treatment or virus transmissibility or their
response to a selection pressure from the rest of the
population within a species.

3.  The first study of biotypes in connection with insect resistance
was made by R H Painter in 1930, when he worked on differences
in Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor) infestation of the same
wheat varieties in two different parts of USA. 16 biotypes of the
fly were identified later.
 Aphids constitute 50% of insect species with known biotypes.
 This is because most of aphid species are parthenogenetic and
one single mutant capable of feeding on a resistant variety can
result into a new biotype (Pathak,1970).
 Polyphagous pests like Helicoverpa armigera and Maruca vitrata
have developed resistance to insecticides like Pyrethroids, some
organophospahtes and a few Carbamates

4. DEVELOPMENT OF RESISTANCE TO INSECTICIDES

5. HOW DO VARIANTS EVOLVE??
Mutations
Migration from population on other crops which are
alternative hosts of the pest
Natural ecological factors
Planting new varieties of host plants with different
resistant characteristics
Widespread use of particular insecticides
Most biotypes are present at a very low level in natural
populations and increase in frequency as a result of
continuous cultivation of resistant varieties (Gallun, 1976)

6. Features of variants
The populations
are very variable
and show great
individual
variation for
virulence to a host
crop or resistance
to an insecticide
or virus
transmissibility
Characteristics
of variants are
inherited by
their offspring
Usually
observed in
host plants
which have
vertical
resistance to
insects

7. S.No Insect species Common name Host (s) No.of
Biotypes
1. Acyrthosiphon
pisum
Pea aphid Alfalfa, Broadbean
Lucerne, pea
9
2. Aphis craccivora Cowpea aphid Groundnut 2
3. Aphis craccivora Cowpea aphid Bush sitao (Vigna sp) 5
4. Aphis fabae Bean aphid Pepper 2
5. Phaedonia inclusa Soybean weevil Soybean 1
6. Therioaphis trifolii Spotted alfalfa aphid Alfalfa 8
7. Aphis glycines Soybean aphid Buckthorn (weed) 4
LIST OF BIOTYPES EVOLVED IN DIFFERENT LEGUME CROPS
Saxena and Barrion (1987)

8. Helicoverpa armigera in pulses

9. Within population genetic diversity of Helicoverpa armigera
of two provinces of Iran viz., Gorgan-Mughan and
Kermanshah-Shahindej ranged from 0.188 to 0.250.
Molecular variance analysis showed significant within and
between population variance. Between and within
geographical variance accounted for 13.88 and 86.12
percent of total molecular variance, respectively.
(Khiaban et al., 2010)

10. Maruca vitrata on pulses

11. Insect samples were collected at five sites from
Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria. Three of the loci in
samples from Nigeria and Burkina Faso deviated
significantly from Niger samples. Analysis of
molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that
genetic variation was 67.3% within individuals
compared to 17.3% among populations.
(Agunbiade et al., 2012)

12. Aphis glycines on soybean

13. Hill et al., 2010 characterized a new isolate of Soybean aphid,
Aphis glycines from overwintering population and it readily
colonized plants with the Rag2 resistance gene and indicated that
it represented a new biotype named biotype 3. The identification
of soybean aphid biotypes that can overcome Rag1 and Rag2
(loci) resistance, even before soybean cultivars with the
resistance genes have been deployed in production, suggests
that there is high variability in virulence within soybean aphid
populations present in North America.

14. Aphis craccivora on cowpea

15. Aphid samples collected from different part of Nigeria
were tested against the known cowpea aphid
resistant varieties. One sample during the dry season
had a different reaction to cowpea varieties identified
as resistant. They were designated as biotype “B”.
Ansari et al. (2010)

16. Acyrthosiphon pisum on Pea

17. Two pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum biotypes were isolated which
differed greatly in efficiency of bean yellow mosaic virus transmission.
The two biotypes ranked differently in efficiency of bean yellow
mosaic virus transmission among eight other aphid species, including
three species not previously reported as vectors of bean yellow
mosaic virus. These biotypes also differed consistently in body size
and in fecundity on pea cultivars.
(Sohi and Swenson, 2011)

18. METHODS TO SLOW DOWN EVOLUTION OF
VARIANTS
A) Re-orientation of breeding programs
 Sequential release of varieties with major genes
 Pyramiding of major genes in new varieties
 Development of horizontal resistance by recurrent selection
methods
 Combining major and minor genes in new varieties
 Rotating major genes
 Breeding tolerant varieties that do not exert extreme selection
pressure on pests
 Systematic surveillance program to monitor development of
biotypes

19. B) Reduce selection pressure from Insecticides
 Reducing frequency of insecticidal treatments :
treat only when needed and use non-chemical
methods as far as possible
 Reducing the extent of treatment i.e avoid blanket
applications and employ spot treatments like stem
applications, directed spraying etc.

20.  Using appropriate insecticides against the
recommended stage of pest.
 Avoiding mixtures of insecticides
 Using high grade technical insecticides to avoid
contamination by analogues, solvents,emulsifiers
and impurities
 Using insecticides with different modes of actions.

21.  AgunbiadeT.A., Coates B.S., KimK.S., Forgacs D.,. Margam V.M, MurdockL.L., Ba M.N., Binso-Dabire
C.L., Baoua I.. Ishiyaku M.F., Tamò M. and. Pittendrigh B.R. 2011. The spatial genetic differentiation
of the legume pod borer, Maruca vitrata F. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) populations. in West Africa
Bulletin of Entomological Research, 35:789-799.
 Ansari A.K., Van Emden H.F. and Singh S.R. 2010. Technical Bulletin No.6. Department of
Horticulture and Pure and Applied Zoology, School of Plant Sciences, The University, Reading,
Berkshire RG6 2AS, U.K.
 Hill Curtis B, Laura Crull, Theresa K. Herman, David J. Voegtlin, and Glen L. Hartman A New
Soybean Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) Biotype Identified. Journal of Economic Entomology
103(2):509-515.
 Khiaban, N.G.M.Z., K. Haddad Irani Nejad, M.S. Hejazi, S.A. Mohammadi and N.Sokhandan (2010).
A Geometric Morphometric Study on the Host Populations of the Pod Borer, Helicoverpa armigera
(Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) InSome Parts of Iran. Munis Entomology & Zoology, 5 (1): 140-
147.
 Saxena, R.C. & A.A. Barrion. 1987. Bioypes of insect pests of agricultural crops. Insect
Sci. Appl. 8: 454-458.
 Sohi S S and Swenson K G 2011. Pea aphid biotypes differing in bean yellow mosaic virus
transmission . Entomologia experimentalis et applicata 7(1):23-29.
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