ARS | Publication request: STABILITY OF THE N ROOT-KNOT NEMATODE RESISTANCE GENE IN BELL PEPPER AT HIGH TEMPERATURES

Submitted to: Journal of Nematology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 22, 1998
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Stability of the N gene that confers resistance to the southern root- knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) in bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) was determined in growth chambers at 24, 28, and 32 deg C. Numbers of eggs/g fresh root, reproductive factor of M. incognita, and root galling increased (P<0.05) as temperature increased for the resistant bell cultivars Charleston Belle and Carolina Wonder (homozygous for the N gene)and their respective susceptible recurrent backcross parents Keystone Resistant Giant and Yolo Wonder B. Both resistant cultivars exhibited a partial loss of resistance at 28 and 32 deg C. At the highest temperature, however, nematode reproduction on the resistant cultivars was only 20% of that of the susceptible cultivars, root gall indices were still within the moderately resistant range, and shoot dry weights were not suppressed. Although a partial loss of resistance occurred in Charleston Belle and Carolina Wonder at high temperatures, root-knot nematode resistant bell pepper cultivars may be a useful component of cropping systems designed to manage M. incognita.