Direct and indirect influences of morphological variations on diseases, yield and quality

Porta-Puglia, A and Bretag, T W and Brouwer, J B and Haware, M P and Khalil, S A (2000) Direct and indirect influences of morphological variations on diseases, yield and quality. In: Linking Research and Marketing Opportunities for Pulses in the 21st Century. Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands, pp. 199-220. ISBN 0-7923-5565-2

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Abstract

Interest in morphological variation in food legume species is increasing as plant breeders search for new variants to satisfy the adaptation requirements from new or changing environments or the needs of new end-users. Examination of evolutionary pathways often provides leads in understanding morphological or physiological variation, which may offer opportunities for exploitation in plant breeding. Variation has direct and indirect effects on yield stability and quality through several parameters acting within the plant and the crop. Traits affecting the development of the crop canopy or the seed, including for example photosynthate repartitions, can have an impact on yield, quality and diseases. Yet the information available is often incomplete for practical use or is very environment specific. Examples are given of the potential utilisation of genetic diversity conserved in different geographic areas as are available in lentils (pilosae types) and chickpeas (kabuli-desi introgression). The concept of quality in pulses is often dominated by morphological traits and the appearance of the seed. There are also instances where the morphological traits affect nutritional and processing quality, (e.g., the novel alleles at the loci controlling both seed shape and starch composition in pea or the gene for zero tannin in lentil). Where prospects are still remote for developing cultivars with high levels of resistance to important diseases, more emphasis needs to be put on other components of integrated disease management. Some plant characteristics, such as growth habit and canopy structure (modulated by sowing date, plant density, etc.), can contribute to control of diseases. However, experiments have shown that an increase in disease incidence due to increased plant density can be compensated for by a yield increase as is the case with chocolate spot and rust in faba bean. Of interest also are morphological traits, which can slow penetration by the pathogen, enabling the plant to deploy post-infection physiological mechanisms of resistance.

Item Type:	Book Section
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	Others > Plant Pathology Others > Entomology
Depositing User:	Mr B K Murthy
Date Deposited:	23 Apr 2014 09:46
Last Modified:	23 Apr 2014 09:46
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/7884
Acknowledgement:	UNSPECIFIED
Links:	Google Scholar

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