Breeding Evaluation of Black Currant for Resistance to Sphaerotheca mors-uvae (Schw.) Berk. et Gurt.
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Black currant (Ribes nigrum) plants are susceptible to a range of fungal diseases. Especially noticeable among them is American powdery mildew, that has affected this crop for over a century. The disease is caused by the ascomycete fungus Sphaerotheca mors-uvae (Schw.) Berk. et Gurt. Severe infection by the pathogen can result in a 50-80 % yield loss, a two- to threefold reduction in shoot growth, and, in extreme cases, plant mortal ity. The objective of this study was to assess black currant accessions from both the collection and hybrid pools for resistance to powdery mildew, to identify the most promising crossing combinations for generating resistant progeny, and to select prospective breeding forms. The research was conducted between 2021 and 2023 at the Core Research Facility “Genetic Bioresource Collection of Plants” of the Federal Horticultural Center for Breeding, Agrotechnology and Nursery and at the black currant crossing site of the Kokino Experimental Station (Federal Horticultural Center for Breeding, Agrotechnology and Nursery). The study encompassed 70 cultivars, 14 selected seedlings, progeny from 12 crossing combinations, and 4 open-pollinated progenies, totaling 1,045 seedlings. The hybrid pool under examination originated from crosses made in 2017 and was planted in the selection breed ing plots in the spring of 2019. Research conducted across seasons with varying weather conditions and degrees of powdery mildew infestation enabled differentiation of the genetic collection samples based on their resistance to the pathogen. Several promising crossing combinations were identified for their production of Sphaerotheca resistant hybrids: ‘Ben Tirran’ × ‘Kipiana’, 41-03-5 × ‘Ben Hope’, ‘Ben Hope’ × ‘Dar Smolyaninovoy’, ‘Podarok Veteranam’ × ‘Mriya’, and ‘Diamant’ × ‘Litvinovskaya’. Positive results were also obtained from open-pollinated progenies of the cultivars ‘Chernavka’ and ‘Dar Smolyaninovoy’ as well as the breeding line 41-03-5, where hybrid selections combined powdery mildew resistance with other desirable agronomic traits, such as resistance to the black currant gall mite and leaf spots, large berry size, multiple racemes per bud. All of the above make berries suitable for mechanical harvest. The future strategy for improving the black currant assortment may be based on incorporating the identified sources of powdery mildew resistance into breeding programs, utilizing newly devel oped, well-adapted breeding stock.
Source: Horticulture and viticulture
Authors: F. F. Sazonov, K. Yu. Nebroi
Institution: Bryansk State Agrarian University
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4408242425