Characterization of fungal pathogens and germplasm screening for disease resistance in the main production area of the common bean in Argentina

Abstract

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most important grain legume in the human diet, mainly in Africa and Latin America. Argentina is one of the five major producers of the common bean in the world, and the main cultivation areas are concentrated in the northwestern provinces of this country. Crop production of the common bean is often affected by biotic factors like some endemic fungal diseases, which exert a major economic impact on the region. The most important fungal diseases affecting the common bean in Argentina are white mold caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, angular leaf spot caused by Pseudocercospora griseola, web blight and root rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani, which can cause production losses of up to 100% in the region. At the present, the most effective strategy for controlling these diseases is the use of genetic resistance. In this sense, population study and characterization of fungal pathogens are essential for developing cultivars with durable resistance. In this review we report diversity studies carried out on these three fungal pathogens affecting the common bean in northwestern Argentina, analyzing more than 200 isolates by means of molecular, morphological and pathogenic approaches. Also, the screening of physiological resistance in several common bean commercial lines and wild native germplasm is reviewed. This review contributes to the development of sustainable management strategies and cultural practices in bean production aimed to minimize yield losses due to fungal diseases in the common bean.

Plant breeding is needed to meet agroecological requirements: Legume crops as a case study

“…There are both many different crops and many different pests and diseases that cannot be addressed in this paper. Recent reviews are available covering resistance breeding either by crop (i.e., common bean (Taboada et al, 2022), faba bean (Rubiales and Khazaei, 2022), grasspea (Ellis et al, 2022), mungbean (Nair et al, 2019), lentil (Roy et al, 2023), pea (Parihar et al, 2022), soybean (Lin et al, 2022)), or by groups of diseases or pests (i.e., insect pests (Edwards and Singh, 2006; Keneni et al, 2011); airborne biotrophic pathogens (Sillero et al, 2006; Martins et al, 2020), necrotrophic pathogens (Tivoli et al, 2006; Bilkiss et al, 2019), soil pathogens (Wohor et al, 2022), parasitic weeds (Rubiales et al, 2006; Rubiales, 2018), nematodes (Ruanpanun and Somta, 2021) or viral diseases (Jha et al, 2023) among others). Attention is needed to better understand not only the genetic basis of resistance, but also the biology of the pathogens, and monitoring their distribution.…”

Wearable sensor supports in‐situ and continuous monitoring of plant health in precision agriculture era

“…Common crop diseases include late blight disease, angular leaf spot, wheat streak mosaic, wheat stem rust and Asian soybean rust (Ning et al ., 2017). In Argentina, angular leaf spot (ALS), caused by the ascomycota fungus Pseudocercospora griseola , leads to yield losses ranging from 20% to 50% in common bean crops (Taboada et al ., 2022). Moreover, environmental factors including temperature, humidity and vapour pressure are crucial in determining plant health.…”

The influence of phytopathogenic fungi on the quality parameters of green bean seeds in period 2018-2022

“…Seed-borne pathogens can drastically reduce the germination of seeds stored for genetic preservation or plant reproduction. Significant losses in bean yield have been caused by more than 200 reported diseases (Assefa et al, 2019;Taboada et al, 2022). Conversely, the beans used for the food that are previously contaminated with fungi can contain mycotoxins that make the beans unsafe for consumption (Waller et al, 2001).…”