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Several secondary plant metabolites are alleged to confer resistance of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., to various insects. The effects of these compounds on the insects, variability among cotton strains, and inheritance have been studied by various workers. Research on seasonal variability and on geotype x environment interactions is sparse. These findings prompted our research to determine the effects of within-season environment and cotton strains on allelochemics alleged to be important in repelling the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F.).
Data were recorded on samples collected at 10 dates from 20 cotton strains in replicated field plots. The following allelochemics were quantified: total phenolics, gossypol and its analogs, a flavonoid-anthocyanin mixture, and three tests for condensed tannins (tannin, El,l, and catechin). Significant differences among cotton strains, sample dates, and significant interaction between these main effects were detected. However, the interaction components were small relative to the main effects. These results suggest that differences in the levels of allelochemics are inherited and that genetic effects among cotton strains should be manageable in breeding programs.
Key Words: Host plant resistance Genotype x environment interaction Heliothis virescens (F.) Allelochemistry
2 Agricultural research technician (presently research entomologist, U .S. Sugarcane Field Laboratory, Houma, LA 70360). research geneticist, research entomologist, and research agronomist, respectively, Crop Science Research Laboratory, Box 5367, Mississippi State, MS 39762.
3 Chemist and research chemist, respectively, Boll Weevil Research Laboratory, Box 5367, Mississippi State, MS 39762.
Received for publication February 8, 1982.
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