Wednesday, November 7, 2007
278-7

Evaluation of Arkansas Soybean Cultivars to Bean Pod Mottle Virus (BPMV).

Ehsanollah Shakiba1, Pengyin Chen1, and Rose Gergerich2. (1) Corp, Soil, and Environmental Science Dept., University of Arkansas, 115 Plant Science Bldg., Fayetteville, AR 72701, (2) Plant Pathology Dept., University of Arkansas, 217 Plant Science Bldg., Fayetteville, AR 72701

Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) is one of the important soybean viral diseases and causes reduction of seed yield and quality in soybean. The objective of this study was to evaluate reaction of soybean cultivars in Arkansas to BPMV and identify cultivar(s) with resistance/tolerance to this virus. Three-hundred and three current Arkansas soybean cultivars were inoculated to two BPMV isolates (K- Ha1, representing the mild isolate (subgroup II) and K-Ho1 representing severe reassortment isolate (I/II)). All cultivars were inoculated by the mechanical method. Two serological tests (the Tissue Blotting and ELISA) were used to detect this virus. The results showed no resistant cultivar to BPMV; however, there was a range of tolerance to this virus among the cultivars. ELISA confirmed presence of BPMV in high and low tolerance cultivars. Tolerance to the virus is associated with less plant height and biomass reduction; therefore, cultivars were classified in four groups: high, moderate, low, and very low tolerance based on 20, 25- 45, 45-60, and 60% of plant height reduction and 25, 25-50, 50-75, and 75% plant biomass reduction, respectively.