Evaluation of rice breeding lines against gall Midge, Orseolia oryzae (Wood-Mason), in Warangal, a gall midge-endemic area of Telangana, India

Introduction

The Asian rice gall midge Orseolia oryzae (Wood-Mason) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) is one of the serious pests of rice (Oryza sativa L.) and confined to certain endemic pockets in India particularly in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu (Pasalu and Katti, 2006) [13] . This insect is essentially a monsoon pest and causes damage wherever high humidity and moderate temperatures prevail (Bentur et al., 2003) [2] . Gall midge infestation induces the formation of characteristic tubular galls known as "silver shoots" or "onion shoots." These galls inhibit tiller development and prevent panicle emergence, ultimately resulting in yield loss (Hidaka et al., 1974) [6] . Yield loss projections for damage due to 1 per cent gall midge incidence induced silver shoot damage resulted in 3.5 per cent loss (Muralidharan and Pasalu, 2005) [12] . The pest is capable of causing yield losses ranging from 10 to 25% (Prasad and Prasad, 2006) [14] and the severity of damage increases under late planting conditions (Chaudhari et al., 2018) [4] . Considerable efforts have been made to manage gall midge through the development and cultivation of resistant rice varieties using identified donor sources. However, the continuous and widespread cultivation of resistant cultivars has exerted strong selection pressure on gall midge populations, leading to the evolution of new virulent biotypes and the subsequent breakdown of host resistance. So far, at least seven distinct gall midge biotypes have been identified in India. Among them, the Warangal population in Telangana has been characterized as a highly virulent biotype (GMB4M), capable of overcoming resistance genes effective against earlier populations (Vijayalakshmi et al., 2006) [20] . Among the available management strategies, host plant resistance remains the most economical, eco-friendly, and sustainable approach for managing rice gall midge (Bentur et al., 2013) [3] . Systematic screening of rice genotypes in endemic areas is essential for identifying stable and durable sources of resistance. In this context, the present investigation was undertaken to identify potential donor lines for resistance to gall midge biotype prevailing in Warangal region of Telangana.

Materials and Methods

The present study was conducted in the research farm of Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Warangal under Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University (PJTAU), Telangana, India, during the wet season of 2014. A total of 67 rice breeding lines, along with 6 checks viz., ADT 38, CO 43, Abhaya, Aganni, RP 2068-18-3-5, and TN-1 (susceptible check), were screened for resistance to gall midge. The lines were evaluated under the Gall Midge Screening (GMS) trial as per the technical programme given by the Entomology coordinating centre, ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad under All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Rice. The experiment was conducted under delayed sowing and transplanting conditions to coincide with pest infestation. The seeds were sown in lines on raised nursery beds during 3 rd week of July, 2014 and the nursery was maintained as per the standard agronomic practices (Shaik et al., 2014) [17] . The seedlings were transplanted during 3 rd week of August, 2014 at a spacing of 20 x 15 cm. The breeding lines were evaluated in an augmented design with each test line transplanted in a single row consisting of 20 plants. TN-1 was grown as infestor rows (thrice in between the test lines) and also planted as border of the experimental block to facilitate uniform and adequate buildup of gall midge population. All recommended agronomic practices were followed throughout the crop growth period, except for plant protection measures, to allow natural infestation of gall midge. Observations on gall midge incidence were recorded twice i.e., at 31 days after transplanting (DAT) and 49 DAT. Data were collected on the total number of plants, total number of tillers per plant, number of damaged plants with silver shoots, number of silver shoots/damaged plant. Per cent plant damage (% PD) and per cent silver shoots (% SS) were calculated. The breeding lines were classified based on their reaction to gall midge using the Standard Evaluation System (SES) for rice (IRRI, 2013) [7] , considering both per cent plant damage and per cent silver shoot damage (Table 1). Based on the score of silver shoot damage, the lines were categorized as highly resistant (HR), resistant (R), moderately resistant (MR), moderately susceptible (MS), susceptible (S), and highly susceptible (HS). Based on plant damage, the lines were categorized as resistant, and susceptible. [9] , recorded 'nil' damage by gall midge and showed a highly resistant reaction, indicating its effectiveness against the Warangal gall midge population. Similar observations on the resistance of Aganni to gall midge populations prevailing in Telangana were earlier reported by Anusha et al. (2022) [1] and Malathi and Padmakumari (2026) [11] . RP 2068-18-3-5 with gm3 gene (Sama et al., 2014) [16] recorded moderately resistant reaction (score 3) while Abhaya carrying Gm4 resistance gene (Shrivastava et al., 1994) [18] recorded susceptible reaction (score 7), based on silver shoot damage. These findings further support earlier reports on the highly virulent nature of the Warangal gall midge population (Vijayalakshmi et al., 2006) [20] . [20] . Several breeding lines involving Kavya (Gm1) and JGL 3855 as parental sources also exhibited susceptible or moderately susceptible reactions, indicating the ineffectiveness of these resistance sources against GMB4M under the tested environmental conditions. Earlier studies also reported breakdown of resistance in varieties carrying single gall midge resistance genes due to continuous selection pressure imposed by evolving gall midge populations (Lingaraj et al., 2008 [10] ; Hari et al., 2022 [5] ).

Variability is noticed in the resistance reactions across the different breeding lines derived from same cross combination. Such variation may be attributed to segregation and differential selection of progenies during advancement of generations. Simultaneous fixation of desirable combinations of phenotypic acceptability and resistance becomes difficult under conventional selection. This highlights the importance of integrating molecular markers linked to gall midge resistance genes in breeding programmes for precise identification and selection of resistant genotypes in elite genetic backgrounds. Variability in resistance expression among rice genotypes was also previously reported. Kalode et al. (1993) [8] evaluated 1295 elite rice breeding lines from Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad both under field and greenhouse conditions against gall midge biotypes 1 and 4. Nine of the resistant lines were derivatives of Siam 29, which, like its derivative Phalguna are resistant to biotype1, but susceptible to biotype 4 indicating the variation in virulence of gall midge. Sumathi and Manickam, 2013 [19] [11] . Host plant resistance remains the most economical, environmentally safe, and sustainable strategy for gall midge management. However, cultivation of varieties possessing single resistance genes often results in rapid breakdown of resistance due to emergence of new virulent biotypes. Therefore, identification of stable resistance sources effective against highly virulent populations such as GMB4M is essential for developing durable gall midge-resistant rice cultivars. The highly resistant and resistant lines identified in the present study may serve as valuable donor sources in resistance breeding programmes. Further characterization of these lines using genespecific molecular markers and pyramiding of multiple resistance genes would help in developing durable gall midgeresistant rice varieties suitable for endemic regions.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgmentsThe authors are highly grateful to the Director of Research, PJTAU, Hyderabad; Associate Director of Research, PJTAU -RARS, Warangal for providing facilities to carry out the research.

References

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