Identification of lentil germ plasm resistant to Colletotrichum truncatum and characterization of two pathogen races

A total of 1,771 lentil accessions from the U.S. lentil collection (U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Pullman, WA) and the Institut fur Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung (Gatersleben, Germany) were screened for resistance to Colletotrichum truncatum, the cause of anthracnose. About 95% of the accessions were susceptible when inoculated with a single isolate in the field. Retesting, under controlled conditions, of accessions rated as resistant or moderately resistant in the field resulted in identification of anthracnose resistance in four accessions from the U.S. collection (PI 320937, PI 320952 [cv. Indianhead], PI 345629, and 468901), and 12 accessions from the German collection (Lens 3, 102 104 106, 107 119, 1 22 134. 135, 177, 195, and 209). Seven of the accessions were used as host differentials to characterize pathogenic variability of 50 single-spore isolates collected in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada. The presence of two distinct races was demonstrated. Isolates of C. truncatum avirulent on cv. Indianhead, PI 320937, PI 345629. PI 468901, Lens 102, Lens 104, and Lens 195 were designated race C1t. Isolates that were virulent on these seven entries were designated race Ct0, indicating their lack of avirulence cries. Race Ct0 was isolated more frequently from commercial seed samples than race Ct1 but the two races were isolated with similar frequency from plants in commercial fields planted to susceptible cultivars. Race ct0, to which no resistance has yet been identified, presents a high risk to lentil production in Canada and potentially worldwide.