Evidence for differential resistance to Peronospora parasitica (downy mildew) in Brassica juncea (mustard) at the cotyledon stage

Thirty-one Brassica juncea accessions were screened at the cotyledon stage for resistance to four isolates of Peronospora parasitica. Isolates R1 and P003 were derived from crops of oilseed rape (B. napus ssp. oleifera) in the UK and isolates IP01 and IP02 were derived from crops of mustard (B. juncea) in India. B. napus cv. Ariana, which was used as a susceptible control for isolates from B. napus, was resistant to isolates from B. juncea. All B. juncea accessions were resistant to isolates From B. napus except one accession which expressed moderate susceptibility and five accessions which expressed moderate resistance to isolate P003. Five groups of B. juncea accessions with differential resistance were identified. Lines homogeneous for resistance were selected from seedling populations of accessions that exhibited a heterogeneous reaction to isolates from B. juncea. The differential resistance identified in the B. juncea-P. parasitica combination can be used as a foundation for Future studies of the genetics of the host-pathogen interaction and for breeding For disease resistance.