Preprint Review Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Breeding for Resistance to the African Sweetpotato Weevils, Cylas puncticollis and Cylas brunneus in Uganda: A Review of the Current Progress

Benard Yada
* ORCID logo ,
Paul Musana
,
Doreen M. Chelangat
,
Florence Osaru
,
Milton A. Otema
,
Arnold Katungisa
,
Bonny M. Oloka
,
Reuben Tendo Ssali
,
Immaculate Mugisa
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 1 September 2023 / Approved: 1 September 2023 / Online: 5 September 2023 (09:13:20 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Yada, B.; Musana, P.; Chelangat, D.M.; Osaru, F.; Anyanga, M.O.; Katungisa, A.; Oloka, B.M.; Ssali, R.T.; Mugisa, I. Breeding Cultivars for Resistance to the African Sweetpotato Weevils, Cylas puncticollis and Cylas brunneus, in Uganda: A Review of the Current Progress. Insects 2023, 14, 837. Yada, B.; Musana, P.; Chelangat, D.M.; Osaru, F.; Anyanga, M.O.; Katungisa, A.; Oloka, B.M.; Ssali, R.T.; Mugisa, I. Breeding Cultivars for Resistance to the African Sweetpotato Weevils, Cylas puncticollis and Cylas brunneus, in Uganda: A Review of the Current Progress. Insects 2023, 14, 837.

Abstract

In sub-Saharan Africa, sweetpotato weevils are the most devastating pests of cultivated sweetpotato, causing estimated losses of between 60% and 100%, primarily during dry spells. The predominantly cryptic feeding behavior of the Cylas spp within the roots makes their control difficult, thus host plant resistance is one of the most promising lines of protection against these pests. However, progress in breeding for weevil-resistant cultivars has been slow in part due to the complex hexaploid genome of sweetpotato, which complicates conventional breeding in addition to the scarcity of varieties with significant levels of resistance for use as sources of resistance. Pollen sterility, cross incompatibility and poor seed set and germination in sweetpotato are also common challenges to improving weevil resistance. Accurate phenotyping of sweetpotato weevil resistance to enhance efficiency of selection has been equally difficult. Genomics-assisted breeding though in its infancy stages in sweetpotato has the potential application in overcoming some of these barriers. However, it will require the development of more genomic infrastructure; particularly single nucleotide polymorphism markers (SNPs), robust next generation sequencing plat-forms together with relevant statistical procedures for analyses. With the recent advances in genomics, we anticipate that genomic breeding for sweetpotato weevil resistance will be expedited in the coming years. This review sheds light on Uganda's efforts to date to breed against the Cylas puncticollis (Boheman) and Cylas brunneus (Fabricius) species of African sweetpotato weevil.

Keywords

sweetpotato; weevils; Cylas spp.; resistance; breeding; Uganda

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Insect Science

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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