STUDIES ON INHERITED STERILITY IN THE COTTON PINK BO WORM Pectinophora gossypiella SAUNDERS LEPIDOPTERA GELECHIIDAE

Abstract

newline The present study was conducted during 2021 23 at the Department of Agricultural newlineEntomology, UAS, Raichur. Here, for the detailed radio-biological studies, P.gossypiella newlinemature pupae were exposed to different doses of gamma radiation ranging from 0-250 Gy newlineand paired in different crosses (Tand#9792;×Nand#9794;, Nand#9792;×Tand#9794; and Tand#9792;×Tand#9794;). It is evident from the radiobiological sterility studies that 150 Gy is the sub-sterilized dose to induce sterility in the newlineparental generation and maximum sterility in the F1 generation. Because this dose gives a newlinebetter viability of F1 progeny with maximum sex distortion towards males and complete newlinesterility when F1 progeny is outcrossed with the self or wild counterparts. The response of newlineboth normal males and irradiated males towards virgin irradiated females and normal females newlinedepends on the age of the female moth and also the dose. Attractiveness was found highest at newline2 days after the release and the dose range above 150 Gy significantly reduced the newlineattractiveness of both sexes. Mating competitiveness studies under both laboratory and field newlinecages indicate that the release of 20:1 or 50:1 irradiated males to natural males is required to newlinecombat the population suppression of pink bollworm. The interaction between sub-sterilizing newlinedoses of irradiation and the diapause behavior of the pink bollworm revealed that irradiation newlinedoes not interfere with the behavior of the pink bollworm to enter diapause. Inherited sterility newlinein the diapause F1 progeny was expressed maximally in the 150Gy compared to 100 and 120 newlineGy. Studies on the gamma irradiation-induced proteomic changes in the hemolymph protein newlineof the mature male pink bollworm larvae indicate that, there was no significant difference newlinebetween the control and treated larval groups with respect to the protein band. An elevation newlineof protein was noticed in the irradiated larval hemolymph and this elevation was nonsignificant among all the doses tested.