Screening of Finger Millet Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. Germplasm for Leaf and Neck Blast Disease Resistance under Natural Infection Condition

摘要

The blast caused by Pyricularia grisea (teleomorph : Magnaporthe grisea) is an economically important and widespread disease of finger millet. Host resistance is the most economical and effective means of combating this disease. We field evaluated 300finger millet germplasm accessions for leaf and neck blast resistance in Magadi, Ramanagara, Karnataka, India during the the rainy season, 2019 under natural field conditions using a progressive rating scale. Based on mean leaf blast severity of 300 accessions were categorised as 122 resistant (R), 107 moderately resistant (MR), 48 susceptible (S) and 23 were highly susceptible (HS). Similarly based on mean neck blast severity, 51 resistant (R), 98 moderately resistant (MR), 136 susceptible (S) and 15were highly susceptible (HS) groups wise identified 30 out of 300 germplasm accessions showed combined resistance to both leaf and neck blast disease. These germplasm accessions were also screened for leaf blast resistance in the uniform blast nursery under greenhouse conditions to assess the per cent mortality of seedlings. The per cent mortality of germplasm accessions ranges from 0 to 85. No mortality was observed in 38 germplasm accessions. The blast resistant germplasm accessions would be useful infinger millet disease resistance breeding programs.