Screening sweetpotato germplasm for resistance to Meloidogyne incognita

Authors: Baker, Hannah; Wram, Catherine; Wadl, Phillip; Rutter, William

Submitted to: National Sweetpotato Collaborators Group Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/28/2025
Publication Date: 4/16/2025
Citation: Baker, H.E., Wram, C.L., Wadl, P.A., Rutter, W.B. 2025. Screening sweetpotato germplasm for resistance to Meloidogyne incognita. National Sweetpotato Collaborators Group Annual Meeting . https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.60.2S.S1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.60.2S.S1

Interpretive Summary: N/A

Technical Abstract: Meloidogyne incognita is the most common root-knot nematode found in agricultural regions worldwide. It can cause severe damage to many crops including sweetpotato storage roots, causing them to be unmarketable and resulting in significant yield losses. Identifying resistant crop varieties is one of the most effective ways to manage M. incognita. To identify germplasm with resistance to M. incognita, 47 sweetpotato accessions obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture GRIN germplasm repository were screened in a greenhouse assay including 2-3 biological replicates per accession. ‘Beauregard’ was used as a susceptible control and ‘Regal’ as a resistant control. Sweetpotato slips containing 3 nodes each were planted in an autoclaved 1:1 mixture of sand and potting mix in Deepot D25L containers and arranged in a randomized block design. Two weeks after planting, each plant was inoculated with 10,000 M. incognita eggs. Eight weeks after inoculation, plants were harvested and rated for fibrosity, galling, number of egg masses, and eggs per gram of root. Resistance was defined as accessions with mean galling = 10% and mean eggs per gram of root = 500. Based on these criteria, 12 accessions were identified as having resistance to M. incognita.