Resistance is not futile! Potato resistance and insecticide resistance with the Colorado potato beetle

Plant resistance is considered to be an important part of an integrated pest management system, compatible with sustainable control methods and can reduce the use of chemical insecticides. A reduction in the susceptibility of the crop to an insect pest lowers pressure from insect pests and allows the use of biological and physical control methods, that generally have a slower or lower impact on the pest population.Wild Solanum species have been used for a long time as a source of disease resistance for several commercial varieties. Several parameters have to be considered for the development of insect resistant potato cultivars such as field resistance and plant genetic variability, host acceptance behavior, suitability for larval development, and adult survival and oviposition. The Colorado potato beetle is the champion of insecticide resistance. Some of the same tools it uses to detoxify toxic chemicals might be involved in allowing the insect to feed on potato foliage. It could also help the insect adapt to a new "resistant" potato cultivar.