SIMULTANEOUS SCREENING FOR RESISTANCE TO BLACKEYE COWPEA MOSAIC-VIRUSAND ROOT-KNOT NEMATODE IN SOUTHERNPEA

Four southernpea (cowpea) [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] cultivars rep resenting various combinations of resistance and susceptibility to bla ckeye cowpea mosaic virus (BlCMV) and southern root-knot nematode [Mel oidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood] were used to determine effectiveness of simultaneous screening of plants for resistance to b oth pathogens, Plants were inoculated with both pathogens simultaneous ly, each pathogen separately, or left uninoculated as controls. The re sistance classification of the cultivars based on treatments with only one pathogen was not different from that based on the treatment with both pathogens. Virus x nematode interaction was not a significant sou rce of variation in BlCMV symptoms and root-knot nematode galls. Simul taneous screening for both pathogens in southernpeas appears to be a f easible option.