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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Charleston, South Carolina » Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #75429

Title: DEVELOPMENT OF BELL-TYPE PEPPER CULTIVARS WITH RESISTANCE TO ROOT-KNOT NEMATODES

Author
item Fery, Richard
item DUKES, PHILIP - ARS-RETIRED
item Thies, Judy

Submitted to: National Pepper Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/8/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The southern root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, is a major pest of bell peppers in the United States. The primary control method is soil fumigation, and the principal fumigant used at present is methyl bromide. The pending phaseout of methyl bromide use in the U. S. has focused considerable interest on host plant resistance as a control measure. Since ethe results of studies conducted at the U. S. Vegetable Labortory indicate that none of the leading bell cultivars grown in the U. S. exhibits adequate levels of resistance, a breeding program was initiated to incorporate the N root-knot nematode resistance gene into commercial bell pepper germplasm. A backcross breeding procedure was used. The donor parent of the N gene was 'Mississippi Nemaheart', and the recurrent parents were the open-pollinated bell peppers 'Keystone Resistant Giant' and 'Yolo Wonder'. A large number of homozygous resistant BC6 populations were evaluated in field tests in 1995, and two lines (PA-440, an isoline of 'Keystone Resistant Giant', and PA-453, an isoline of 'Yolo Wonder') were selected for further field evaluation and seed multiplication in 1996. Results of tests conducted in 1996 indicate that root-knot nematode resistance has been incorporated successfully into 'Keystone Resistant Giant' and 'Yolo Wonder' backgrounds.