Inheritance of Powdery Mildew Resistance in Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)- a Review

Powdery mildew is an important disease of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) causing upto 50% yield loss. It occurs on epidemic scale in areas of high rainfall and humidity coupled with low night temperature. The disease is generally managed by application of sulphur dusting and other chemicals. Use of host plant resistance is the pragmatic approach to manage the disease. For development of powdery mildew resistant/tolerant varieties/hybrids, identification of sources of resistance/tolerance and knowledge of its inheritance pattern are essential. However, reliable screening procedures are lacking. Even though wild sources like Sesamum malabaricum, Sesamum mulayanum, Sesamum prostratum etc. possess the tolerance, so far no tangible progress is made. Use of advanced technologies like molecular markers will be useful to map resistance/tolerance gene(s) against the disease is the prerequisite which can help in the breeding programme.