Parasitism of Meloidogyne exigua races 1 and 2 in coffee plants derived from Timor Hybrid

Abstract

To investigate the degree of parasitism of two populations of Meloidogyne exigua, the gall index (GI) and the reproduction factor (RF) of M. exigua races 1 (Est E2) and 2 (Est E1) were analyzed in 47 progenies on F3:4 or F4:5 generation derived from the crossing between Coffea arabica cv. Catuaí Amarelo and Timor Hybrid. C. canephora cv. Apoatã IAC 2258 and C. arabica cv. Catuaí Vermelho IAC 144 were used as resistance and susceptibility checks, respectively. The genotypes that were classified as resistant or susceptible by RF were similarly classified by GI, showing a close relationship between both methodologies. The data also indicated no differences in virulence between the nematode populations, since the progenies showed similar resistance reactions to the M. exigua races 1 and 2. According to GI from the 47 mother plants evaluated, 27 progenies (57.4%) were classified as resistant to M. exigua races 1 and 2, with GI ranging from 0.0 to 1.4 and 20 progenies (42.6%) were susceptible with GI from 2.6 to 4.4. These results showed that most of the evaluated germplasm was very promising in relation to the development of new Arabica coffee cultivars with resistance to M. exigua.