Study and selection of accessions of cassava with resistance to Vatiga Illudens (Hemiptera: Tingidae)

Cassava is the main source of carbohydrates to more than 700 million people worldwide. Brazil is the center of origin and diversity and in the Cerrados region, despite the economic and social importance of cassava, there is currently a limited number of cultivated varieties. Since cassava is a biennial plant, it is subject to attack from several insect pests, and Vatiga illudens (Drake, 1922) (Hemiptera: Tingidae) has the greatest impact on culture. The defoliation injury causes a reduction of photosynthetic area, which triggers losses in production of the roots. This study evaluated the incidence of adult and nymph lacebug on different genotypes of cassava for industrial and human food as a parameter for the selection of promising genotypes for resistance to this pest in Brazil. The experiment was conducted at Embrapa Cerrados with industrial and human food genotypes of cassava. We evaluated 17 industrial accessions, 16 human food accessions, 14 carotene accessions and 4 sugary accessions. The experimental design was a RBD with three replications; the entire evaluation was conducted three times. The results indicated significant differences in the incidence of lacebug among accession groups of cassava. The results also indicated that the number of insects is an adequate parameter to study and select resistant genotypes of cassava and that in the cassava germplasm bank of Embrapa Cerrados there is genetic variability for resistance to this pest.