The effects of five soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] genotypes ('BR-16', 'IAC-100', PI 227687, PI 229358, PI 274454) on nymphal development, adult weight and lipid content of the stink bug Nezara viridula (L.), were evaluated in the laboratory. When fed on the pods of PI 227687 (resistant) and of 'BR-16' (susceptible) nymph mortalities were respectively 66.2% and 27.5%. Second instar nymphs, maintained since hatching in petri dishes containing PI 274454 and 'BR-16' pods, weighed 1.1 mg and 1.0 mg, respectively; they were heavier than those fed with PI 227687 (0.7 mg) and 'IAC-100' (0.7 mg) pods. Adult fresh weights were 146.9 mg when fed on 'BR-16', 127.0 mg with PI 227687 and 125.5 mg with 'IAC-100'. The later two genotypes also negatively affected stink bug weight gain. Females accumulated less lipid when fed on 'IAC-100' (4.8 mg) and PI 227687 (4.3 mg) than those fed on the other genotypes. By their deleterious effects, PI 227687 is confirmed as an inadequate food to N. viridula and as the most promising genotype for use in soybean breeding programs as sources of resistance to stink bug.
Plant resistance; antibiosis; Glycine max
