Host Plant Resistance to Manage Pest Stink Bugs: The Block Technology on Soybean

Host plant resistance has been known for a long time as one of the most important strategies to manage insect pest species. In the case of stink bugs that impact the soybean crop, attempts were done to develop resistant cultivars in the past with limited favorable results. These limitations were, in general, due to the relatively low yield of grain production of the cultivars bearing resistant traits. In recent years, the development of the technology called Block by Embrapa is gaining momentum. The cultivars bearing this technology, in addition of been less damaged by stink bugs, show grain yields comparable of the commercial cultivars used by growers. In this chapter we will discuss in details the traits that make the cultivars bearing the Block technology successful.