Virus resistance of Australian pea (Pisum sativum) varieties

Joop Van Leur, Safaa Kumari, M. Aftab, A Leonforte, S Moore. (1/5/2013). Virus resistance of Australian pea (Pisum sativum) varieties. New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 41 (2), pp. 86-101.

Abstract

Australian pea varieties were evaluated for virus resistance using spreader plots sown with Pea seed-borne mosaic virus (PSbMV)-infected seed and aphid inoculations with Bean leafroll virus (BLRV). Natural infections by Bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) and Soybean dwarf virus (SbDV) allowed also screening for these viruses. Complete PSbMV resistance was limited to a few varieties, but BYMV resistance was relatively frequent. No consistent ranking of partial PSbMV resistance or PSbMV seed transmission rates were found. Selection for partial resistance to PSbMV is therefore not a practical breeding objective, while incorporating complete resistance is relatively easy. A wide range of resistance was found for BLRV and confirmed in field and greenhouse tests against local BLRV strains in Syria, but infection levels varied over years and no complete resistance was identified. Genotypes with a high level of partial resistance to BLRV also appeared to show resistance to the closely related SbDV.