HERITABILITY ESTIMATES AND PHENOTYPIC CORRELATIONS FOR WHITE MOLD RESISTANCE AND AGRONOMIC TRAITS IN PINTO BEAN

摘要

White mold caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a serious disease that reduces yield and seed quality in common bean {Phaseolus vulgaris). The use of resistant varieties is the most economical way to manage the disease but white mold resistance is acomplex quantitative trait that is affected by plant architectural traits and the environment. Pinto beans which belong to the medium-seeded Middle American Durango race are the most common market class grown in North America; however traditional cultivars lack physiological resistance and possess indeterminate, prostrate, type III growth habit that favors disease development. In recent years, new type II indeterminate upright cultivars have been bred to avoid white mold. The objective of this study was to analyze the heritability of and correlations between white mold resistance and agronomic traits in a type II pinto bean RIL population.