The planthopper (hemiptera: delphacidae) attacking the local and hybrid maize varieties in Central Sulawesi-Indonesia: Identification, abundance and preferences

Abstract

The planthopper may treat and reduce the corn productivity if not managed properly. This study aims to discover the planthopper species that attack the corn in Central Sulawesi and their abundance in the local and hybrid corn varieties. Three hybrid varieties (Pertiwi, Pioneer, and Arumba) and one local variety (Lamuru) of corn were used as the treatments. They were set up using a Randomized Block Design in 6 replications. The planthopper population was directly observed weekly both in the vegetative and generative stages and imago were randomly collected for identification at the laboratory. Differences in secondary metabolites of corn particularly total phenolic and silica content were analyzed. The study confirmed that the planthopper attacked corn in our study sites as the white-bellied planthopper Stenocranus pacificus Kirkaldy (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). The presence of the S. pacificus was first recorded 2 weeks after plantation (WAP) only at the Pertiwi variety. The highest population of S.pacificus was detected at 4 and 5 WAP and the most preferable variety was Pertiwi followed by Pioneer, Arumba, and Lamuru indicating that the hybrid variety seemed to be more susceptible to infest by planthopper than the local corn variety. Polyphenol but not silica contents of corn varieties may explain the preferences of planthoppers in attacking the corn