Improving the utility of nematode resistance in groundnut

Host resistance to pests and pathogens, to be useful, must be introgressed into cultivars that possess the high yield potential and other important agronomic quality traits desired by the growers. The root-knot nematodes M. arenaria and M. javanica are only a subset of the several important pests and pathogens attacking groundnut. The resistance that was transferred from wild Arachis spp. to cultivated groundnut will provide nearly complete control of these important pathogens; however, growers have been reluctant to use this resistance because the resistant cultivars lack other desired traits. The introgression of nematode resistance into genotypes that have multiple disease resistance, higher yield potential, and the important agronomic trait of the high O/L ratio will provide growers with a cultivar that satisfies most of their needs. Our current efforts are aimed at providing growers with high quality cultivars with high levels of resistance to multiple diseases. Development of germplasm with these multiple traits will ensure that potential benefits of host resistance are realized.