Resistance to Fusarium wilt race 2 in the Pisum core collection

Plant breeders must be aware of sources of resistance to pathogens that aff ect their crops. Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum Schl. f. sp. pi si Snyd. & Hans. is a fungal disease that affects peas and is important wor ldwide. Resistance to the different races of the pathogen has been identifi ed in adapted germplasm and from specific accessions in the United States W orld Collection of peas (Pisum sativum L.). The goal of this study was to e valuate the resistance to fusarium wilt race 2 in the Pisum core collection . Of the 452 accessions screened, 62 (14%) were resistant. The resistant ac cessions included accessions from P.s. ssp. elatius that were collected fro m 24 different countries. The wide distribution of resistance around the wo rld precludes the identification of any single country or region as a sourc e of resistance. Of the 62 accessions resistant to race 2, 39 are also resi stant to race 1 based on data obtained from GRIN. One of the wild progenito rs, PI 344012, possessed resistance to races 1 and 2.