ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors summarize and discuss knowledge on host plant resistance to major insect pests of beans. The bean stem maggot or bean fly is one of the most important pests of common bean in Africa, Asia, and Australia, causing complete loss of bean seedlings and more mature plants in certain areas. Evaluations of bean cultivars for resistance to bean stem maggot have been done in Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Taiwan. The leafhopper E. kraemeri is the most important insect pest of common beans in Latin America and southern Florida. Thousands of bean germplasm accessions from the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), WRPIS, and other repositories have been screened for resistance to leafhoppers. The importance of large germplasm collections is exemplified by the finding of high levels of resistance to bruchids in wild P. vulgaris accessions and the detection of valuable sources of resistance to bean pod weevil in landraces from Mexico.
