Occurrence of a new Russian wheat aphid biotype in Colorado

Russian wheat aphid [RWA, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko)] is a serious pest of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the western USA Great Plains region. While variation in virulence among different RWA isolates has been reported elsewhere, no such variation has been documented among North American RWA isolates. Our objective was to confirm observations in spring 2003 suggesting that a new biotype of RWA was present in southeastern Colorado. The new biotype induced greater injury (leaf rolling and overall plant damage) than the original biotype in standard greenhouse seedling screening tests with a limited collection of resistant and susceptible cultivars. A second experiment with a broader collection of known RWA resistance sources identified only one accession, 94M370 (Dn7 gene), with resistance to the new biotype. Development of wheat cultivars with resistance to this new biotype will depend on rapid identification and deployment of new resistance sources.