Resistance to Peach-potato Aphid, Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in Potato Cultivars; [Resistenz gegen die Grüne Pfirsichblattlaus, Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae), in Kultursorten der Kartoffel]

Previous research suggests that potato cultivars offer little aphid resistance. However, few studies have measured the effects of host cultivar on aphid age dependent life table statistics or related these measures to field performance. In this study, laboratory and field studies assessed four commercial potato cultivars (Anya, Desiree, Pink Fir Apple, Santé) for resistance to Myzuspersicae. Cultivars were found to show considerable differences in resistance. In the laboratory, the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and effective fecundity of M. persicae was lowest on cv. Anya and highest on cv. Desiree. Aphids also took longer to develop to adults and were smaller in size on Anya compared with Desiree. Field studies over two seasons found that M. Persicae infestations started earlier on Desiree than on Anya and that the greatest weekly counts were recorded on the former. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.