Location: Vegetable Crops Research
Project Number: 5090-21000-073-112-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 22, 2025
End Date: Sep 21, 2026
Objective:
Objective: Research and development objectives will focus on investigations of genetic variation for carrot disease resistance. The primary objective of this work is to screen existing cultivars, breeding stocks, and diverse germplasm, including novel crosses from the ARS carrot breeding program, that exhibit resistance to foliar and root diseases.
The sub-objectives are four-fold: 1) identify new sources of disease resistance 2) identify disease organisms 3) identify genes controlling disease resistance 4) Determine if anthocyanin accumulation and content are inter-related to disease response, as has been observed for cavity spot disease.
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Approach:
Cooperator and ARS PIs will screen carrot germplasm for their disease response in both North Carolina and Wisconsin field trials. Similar pathogens occur at both locations, but their identities have not been well-characterized, and variation in carrot disease response has not been compared between locations. Based on disease response, candidates for genomic analyses and gene identity will be identified. Ultimately, new carrot breeding stocks with strong defensive responses will be bred to utilize for development of new resistant cultivars.