Characterization of Shallot (Allium ascalonicum) Plants Affected by Armyworm Pest (Spodoptera exigua)

Shallots are susceptible to Spodoptera exigua attack, causing crop failure of 45-57% for low attack and high attack can cause up to 100% crop failure. One way to increase plant resistance is to use resistant varieties. In previous studies, shallot mutants have been produced through radiation techniques in the M3-M5 generation resistant to armyworm pests with cobalt gamma radiation doses of 3 Gy and 4 Gy. This study aimed to obtain M5 shallot mutant strains that are resistant/tolerant to armyworm pests. The experiment used a Randomized Group Design (RAK) with 20 test samples of 17 M5 mutant strains. The second stage was a preliminary test to see the stability of the radiation mutant strains. The experiment was conducted using a Randomized Block Design (RAK) with a total of 25 strains consisting of 22 tested M5 mutant strains and three released comparison varieties. The test was conducted in four replications with the number of individual plants observed per plot of 11 plants. Quantitative data were analyzed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Morphological characters between combinations of generations and bulb forms in shallots show differences, namely the character of crown behavior, leaf green color intensity, leaf length,and pseudo-stem length.