Insecticide resistance in Italian population of the peach potato aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera Aphididae)

Research on insecticide resistance in Myzus persicae (Sulzer) in Italy was started by the Institute of Entomology and Plant Pathology of the “Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore” in Piacenza (Northern Italy) in the early 1990s. Now continuously reared cultures of about 100 populations, collected mainly from Italian peach orchards, are available. Insecticide resistance mechanisms in these populations have been characterised. Close collaboration with other Italian researchers was started to combine different research techniques. This has allowed the discovery in the sodium channel gene of a new mutation (F979S) that increases resistance to pyrethroid insecticides. Esterase- and modified acetylcholinesterase- based resistance has also been investigated.