Breeding for Bacterial Wilt Disease Resistance in Brinjal

Brinjal is a warm–season vegetable that belongs to the Solanaceae family. Among the biotic stresses of brinjal, bacterial wilt is a major disease caused by a soil-borne bacterium, Ralstonia solanacearum. Both cultural and chemical disease control methods are not effective due to the wide host range and prolonged spore survival periods in soil. In recent past, the use of resistant varieties and hybrids are recognized as the effective method to control bacterial wilt disease. Information on genetics of resistance to bacterial wilt disease is of prime importance for improvement of varieties and hybrids in brinjal. The bacterial wilt resistance response and resistance mechanisms are strictly based on the environmental conditions and cultivars. In traditional crop improvement methods, the development of varieties and hybrids is expensive and time consuming. The discovery of molecular marker systems increases the speed and precision for developing of varieties and hybrids with desired agronomic traits.