Resistance Evaluation to Eight Phytophthora sojae Isolates for Major Soybean Cultivars in Huang-Huai-Hai Rivers Valley
With the application of wheat stubble no-tillage cultivation technology, the occurrence rate of phytophthora root rot of soybean is getting higher in the Huang-Huai-Hai Rivers Valley. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the resistance of the widely-grown soybean cultivars to phytophthora root rot and to screen disease-resistant resources for soybean improvement. In the current study, a total of 140 soybean cultivars, widely-grown in Huang-Huai-Hai Rivers Valley since the 1950s, were investi-gated for their response to eight strains of Phytophthora sojae through the hypocotyl inoculation method. Except that six cultivars were susceptible to all strains, 134 cultivars (95.7%) were resistant to 1–8 strains, including 83 cultivars (59.3%) resistant to 6–8 strains. A total of 65 reaction types in response to the eight strains were identified from the 134 resistant cultivars by means of 14 reference genotypes. Five reaction types produced by 19 cultivars fit the reaction-type profile of a known resistance gene or the combination of two genes. The remaining 60 reaction types by 115 cultivars were different from all reaction types of a single re-sistance gene or the combinations of two genes, indicating that theses cultivars might carry novel resistance gene(s)/gene combi-nation(s) against P. sojae. These results provide a guide in parent selection for pyramiding resistance genes in soybean cultivars with good agronomic backgrounds.