Selection of Resistant Hybrids of Atractylis Against Phytophthora drechsleri

Bioassay techniques using young leaves and roots were developed to screen resistance of Atractylis spp. against Phytophthora drechsleri. Among 638 plants collected from various regions of Korea from 1994 to 1996, 67 were pre-screened in fields naturally infested with P. drechsleri, which is the causal pathogen of rhizome rot of Atractylis. Among the pre-screened sources, 18 (ca. 26.8%) were highly resistant to the pathogen in leaf inoculation. In the root inoculation test, abundant sporangia were formed in susceptible plant roots, while only a few or no sporangia were produced on the roots which were found resistant in the leaf inoculation test. Among the selected resistant plants, A. japonica 96066 and 96104 were used to cross with another species, A. macrocephala 96362 that showed high yield with good quality of rhizome but susceptible to the pathogen. The F$_1$hybrids designated as HA03 turned out to be resistant to the pathogen, indicating that resistant gene(s) was inherited. Among intra-species hybrids of A. japonica, HA07 and HA09 were resistant to the pathogen in leaf inoculation and moderate in root inoculation. However, HA08 was susceptible in both inoculation tests. This result suggests that the parent material might be genetically heterogeneous. Further genetic study should be carried out to verify this phenomenon.