Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 September 2012
Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum, Schlecht. emend. Snyd. & Hans. f. sp. ciceri is prevalent in most chickpea-growing countries and is a major devastating disease. Host plant resistance is the most practical method of disease management. Indigenous chickpea germplasm reveals a heterogeneous genetic make-up and the response of resistance to wilt is an unexplored potential source for disease resistance. There are 70 indigenous germplasm lines selected on the basis of their agronomic performance and diverse areas of collections in the country. Of these, four accessions had a highly resistant score of 1 and six had a score of 3 using a 1–9 rating scale, indicating their level of resistance to Fusarium wilt (race 4). Other germplasm accessions of chickpea were found to be moderately resistant to highly susceptible disease reaction. Likewise, the same set of germplasm was also screened for Meloidogyne incognita (race 1) using pot culture under controlled condition. Only one accession was found to be resistant to this pest. These resistant gene sources can be utilised effectively for race-specific chickpea wilt and root-knot resistance breeding programmes.