Recent Advances in Breeding for Disease Resistance in Pigeonpea

In En) Good progress has been made during the past 15 years in breeding for disease resistance in pigeonpea and effective laboratory and field screening techniques have been developed for all the major diseases. For fusarium wilt, a pot culture technique for evaluating material in the glasshouse and sick plots for evaluation in field have been standardized. For sterility mosaic, a leaf-stapling technique for evaluation in pots and field and infector hedge and spreader-row techniques for field evaluation are available. For phytophthora blight, leaf scar and drench-inoculation techniques for use in pot culture and stem-rub, diseased-debris, and sickplot techniques for field use have been developed. Several sources of resistance to fusarium wilt, sterility mosaic and alternaria blight and a few lines field-resistant to phytophthora blight have been identified. For fusarium wilt and sterility mosaic, lines such as ICP 8863 and ICP 10976 with broad-based resistance have also been identified. A few lines such as ICP 7887, ICP 9174 and KPBR 80-2 with multiple disease resistance to two to three major diseases have also been identified. In case of fusarium wilt, sterility mosaic and alternaria blight, a few resistant and high yielding varieties such as Maruti, Bahar, and Da 11 for individual diseases have also been developed. Because limited information is available on pathogenic variability and the genetics of disease resistance, these aspects need more attention. Breeding for resistance to phytophthora blight and for multiple disease resistance should also be given priority. , 20 ref. ;, (In En) Good progress has been made during the past 15 years in breeding for disease resistance in pigeonpea and effective laboratory and field screening techniques have been developed for all the major diseases. For fusarium wilt, a pot culture technique for evaluating material in the glasshouse and sick plots for evaluation in field have been standardized. For sterility mosaic, a leaf-stapling technique for evaluation in pots and field and infector hedge and spreader-row techniques for field evaluation are available. For phytophthora blight, leaf scar and drench-inoculation techniques for use in pot culture and stem-rub, diseased-debris, and sickplot techniques for field use have been developed. Several sources of resistance to fusarium wilt, sterility mosaic and alternaria blight and a few lines field-resistant to phytophthora blight have been identified. For fusarium wilt and sterility mosaic, lines such as ICP 8863 and ICP 10976 with broad-based resistance have also been identified. A few lines such as ICP 7887, ICP 9174 and KPBR 80-2 with multiple disease resistance to two to three major diseases have also been identified. In case of fusarium wilt, sterility mosaic and alternaria blight, a few resistant and high yielding varieties such as Maruti, Bahar, and Da 11 for individual diseases have also been developed. Because limited information is available on pathogenic variability and the genetics of disease resistance, these aspects need more attention. Breeding for resistance to phytophthora blight and for multiple disease resistance should also be given priority.