Simultaneous Screening for Resistance to Blackeye Cowpea Mosaic Virus and Root-knot Nematode in Southernpea
in HortScienceFour southernpea (cowpea) [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] cultivars representing various combinations of resistance and susceptibility to blackeye cowpea mosaic virus (BlCMV) and southern root-knot nematode [Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood] were used to determine effectiveness of simultaneous screening of plants for resistance to both pathogens. Plants were inoculated with both pathogens simultaneously, each pathogen separately, or left uninoculated as controls. The resistance classification of the cultivars based on treatments with only one pathogen was not different from that based on the treatment with both pathogens. Virus × nematode interaction was not a significant source of variation in BlCMV symptoms and root-knot nematode galls. Simultaneous screening for both pathogens in southernpeas appears to be a feasible option.
