American black currant as donor of leaf disease resistance in black currant breeding

Abstract

Fungal diseases such as powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca mors-uvae), Septoria leaf spot (Mycosphaerella ribis) and anthracnose (Pseudopeziza ribis) are among the major problems for black currant growers. Interspecific hybridisation is one of the most effective methods to solve this problem by creating resistant cultivars. Hybrids of Ribes nigrum x R. Americanum and R. americanum x R. nigrum were obtained after interspecific hybridisation and culture of isolated embryos in vitro. The fertility of plants was very low in F1 and increased in F2 and F3. There were resistant plants in all families of hybrids obtained by reciprocal crosses, but the resistance level of hybrids with R. americanum cytoplasm was considerably higher. In F3 generation plants, vitality and agronomical traits were increased. The resistance to fungal diseases of the same hybrids in F3 generation was higher than of R. nigrum and equal to that of R. americanum. Keywords: fungal diseases, interspecific hybrids, Ribes