RESISTANCE OF POTATO GENOTYPES TO Meloidogyne javanica

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the resistance of a group of clones and cultivars from the potato breeding program of Embrapa to Meloidogyne javanica. The experiment was conducted at Embrapa Temperate Climate, Pelotas / RS, under greenhouse conditions at temperatures of 25 ± 5°C. Individual potato plants of different genotypes [BRSIPR Bel, BRS F63 (Camila), CL02-05, F23-11-06, F32-02-06, F38-03-07, F189-09-06, F23-24-06 and F22-01-08], kept in pots with sterilized soil were inoculated with 5,000 eggs and J2 of M. javanica, using six replicates per treatment. The susceptible control, potato cultivar BRS Ana was inoculated with the same level of inoculum. Fifty-five days after inoculation, the number of galls on the roots of each plant was determined as well as the number of protuberances caused by nematodes in the different treatments. Then, the roots of each plant were processed for counting the number of eggs and J2, as well as determining the nematode reproduction factor (FR: final population / initial population). All genotypes were susceptible (FR> 1.00) to M. javanica. However, there were different levels of susceptibility among the cultivars tested.