Screening techniques and sources of resistance to root diseases in cool season food legumes

Abstract

Soil-borne fungal diseases are among the most important factors, limiting the yield of grain legumes in many countries worldwide. Root rot, caused by Aphanomyces euteiches, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium solani and wilt, caused by several formae speciales of Fusarium oxysporum are the most destructive soil-borne diseases of pea, chickpea, lentil, fababean and lupin. The most effective control of these diseases is achieved through the use of resistant varieties. In this paper, recent advances in conventional and innovative screening methods for disease resistance are presented. Many grain legume accessions, which are maintained in national and international germplasm collections, have been evaluated for disease resistance and numerous resistant varieties have been released following incorporation of identified resistance genes from these sources. Recent identification of molecular markers tightly linked to resistance genes has greatly enhanced breeding programs by making marker assisted selection (MAS) possible and allowing the development of varieties with multiple disease resistance. Progress in the understanding of the biology of soil-borne fungal pathogens of grain legumes is also reviewed with particular reference to the genetic structure of their populations, diagnosis and host-pathogen interaction.

Legume Crops Phylogeny and Genetic Diversity for Science and Breeding

“…Other abiotic stresses, like heat tolerance and water logging, also require attention. Identifying and incorporating host resistance to biotic stresses is needed (Infantino et al, 2006;Tivoli et al, 2006;Pérez-de-Luque et al, 2010;Sillero et al, 2010).…”

“…Several large studies were published primarily for quantitative disease reactions (Infantino et al, 2006;Tivoli et al, 2006;Sillero et al, 2006). Many pea germplasm screens have been conducted for biotic and abiotic stresses, agronomic traits and seed quality (e.g., nutrition) but the studies are small (less than 20 accessions), the data is unavailable, published in difficult-to-access sources or unpublished.…”

Breeding Lupinus albus for resistance to the root pathogen Pleiochaeta setosa

“…The pathosystems of the main cool-season food legumes and their most common root pathogens have recently been reviewed (Infantino et al 2006). These authors described how CE screening for breeding is more reliable than in the field for many diseases because the system is simplified and the most important environmental conditions can be regulated.…”

Lentil

“…However, there are some important and potentially devastating diseases ). Several reviews on screening techniques and sources of resistance to root and foliar diseases in cool season grain legumes have been published (Infantino et al 2006 ;Sillero et al 2006 ;Tivoli et al 2006 ).…”