USE OF 3 INOCULATION METHODS IN SCREENING COWPEA GENOTYPES FOR RESISTANCE TO 2 COLLETOTRICHUM SPECIES

Twelve cowpea cultivars were screened for reactions to infection by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and C. truncatum, causal agents of anthracnose and brown blotch diseases, respectively. Three different inoculation techniques were used: spraying a spore suspension on leaves of seedlings, injecting a spore suspension into stems, and wrapping wounded seedling stems with inoculum meal. Wrapping of wounded seedlings with inoculum meal of Colletotrichum spp. was the best method of inoculation because it produced optimal conditions for infection and disease development. Cowpea cultivars IT82E-60, IT81D-1137, and Vita-7 were susceptible to anthracnose, whereas TVx 3236, IT81D-994, and IT81D-975 were resistant. Cultivars IT82E-60, IT82D-699, and Ife brown were susceptible to brown blotch, whereas TVx 3236, Vita-7, and IT81D-1137 were resistant.