Shuxian Li, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service- Crop Genetics & Production and Research Unit, 141 Expriment Station Road, PO Box 345, Stoneville, MS 38776 and James R. Smith, USDA-ARS-CG&PR, PO Box 345, 141 Experiment Station Road, Stoneville, MS 38776.
Phomopsis seed decay of soybean is a major cause of poor quality soybean seed in the United States, especially in the mid-southern USA. The disease is caused primarily by the fungal pathogen, Phomopsis longicolla. To identify soybean lines resistant to this pathogen, 16 soybean plant introductions were selected based on previous tests of seed quality that included two lines previously reported to be resistant. A field experiment was established using a randomized complete block design with six replications at Stoneville, Mississippi on April 18, 2006. Plants were inoculated at the R5 stage with a spore suspension (10-4/ml) prepared from a combination of 10 Mississippi isolates. A total of 240 seed from each line, harvested at two stages (R8 and R8 plus two weeks), was plated on acidified potato dextrose agar and assayed for the incidence of P. longicolla. Non-inoculated seed was also tested. Several lines were identified that had low disease incidence and good seed quality. A second field trial in 2007 will confirm the resistance of those lines.