Identification of sources of resistance in lettuce to the lettuce root aphid, Pemphigus bursarius

In a series of glasshouse and laboratory experiments, lettuce varieties and wild Lactuca species were screened for resistance to the lettuce root aphid, Pemphigus bursarius (Ron.). Several new sources of resistance to P. bursarius development and survival were identified. Extremely high levels of resistance were found in the wild species L. saligna, L. perennis and L. virosa. Resistance was also identified in the lettuce variety Grand Rapids. This resistance is controlled by one or two genes. At least one of these genes is not allelic to the existing Lra gene. Grand Rapids therefore represents a new source of resistance to P. bursarius.