Effect of Root-knot Nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) Infection on Mungbean Genotypes: Identification and Characterization of Host Plant Resistance

Mungbean (Vigna radiata) has great socio-economic importance and is one of the main food legumes widely distributed worldwide. Yield losses caused by Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) have been widely recorded in mungbean growing areas. Screening for stable resistant genotypes has the potential to reduce the damage caused by the root-knot nematodes.

The present investigation screening of 100 mungbean genotypes against M. javanica infection were carried out in field- laboratory during 2023. Host plant resistance sources of mungbean genotypes were identified and characterized based on number of galls, galling index (GI) and a number of egg mass index against M. javanica infection.

The result exhibited that, three accessions namely UPM 02–17, IPM 1620–6 and IPM 1718–1 were resistant to M. javanica infection having GI ± 2 and five accessions viz., PARAT M 8, PUSA 9531, RMG 353, PAU-911 and PM-2 showed moderately resistant reaction with GI ± 10 and rest of the screened genotypes were either susceptible or highly susceptible against nematode infection. Nematode development and multiplication on mungbean resistance accessions had significantly weakness in pathogenic ability and nematode infection appeared to be antibiosis that was associated with reduced nematode penetration, retardation of nematode development and impeding the giant cell formation as compared to RKN susceptible mungbean genotypes.