Breeding tools for durable resistance to nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) of coffee varieties

Abstract

Coffee is one of the world’s largest traded commodities, produced in over 60 countries. Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) have become a major threat in all major coffee-growing areas. So far, more than fifteen species of Meloidogyne have been reported as pathogens of coffee (Coffea arabica L.). Nematocide treatments are only effective in the short term, expensive and environmentally hazardous. Growing nematode-resistant coffee trees constitutes so far the most promising option to control the pest. During the last decade, resistance to root-knot nematode have been identified in spontaneous accessions and relative diploid species. With the aim of improving the resistance to root-knot nematodes of coffee varieties grown in Latin America, a project was initiated in February 2002 with the financial support of the European Community (INCO, Contract ICA4-CT-2001-10070). The selected strategy relies upon the combined development of (i) varieties (either cultivar or rootstock) associating complementary well-characterised resistance genes, and (ii) optimised variety-deployment strategies based on a careful characterisation (geographical distribution, virulence and pathogenicity) of root-knot nematodes populations damaging coffee trees.