Identification of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) cultivars and lines immune to variants of blackeye cowpea mosaic potyvirus

Fifty-one cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) cultivars and lines were tested by mechanical inoculation against seven geographically and pathogenically diverse isolates of blackeye cowpea mosaic potyvirus (BlCMV), to identify genetic resources with comprehensive BlCMV resistance. Five genotypes, IT 80S 2049, Big Boy, Corona, Serido, and Tennessee Cream #8 were immune from all seven isolates, and an additional three genotypes, TVu-2657, TVu-2740, and TVu-3433, were immune from all isolates except PU-7B, an aberrant BlCMV isolate. The diversity among BlCMV isolates was illustrated by the range of responses to inoculation among cowpea genotypes, many of which were either immune from or tolerant of individual BlCMV isolates.