Newly Identified Anthracnose Resistant French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) Accessions from Garhwal Hills of Uttarakhand, India

Anthracnose is one of the major diseases of French bean, which alone causes up to 50 % loss in yield. This disease is very common in cold and humid areas. Use of resistant varieties instead of harmful pesticides is an effective and organic way to protect crop from diseases. Immense diversity of French bean is present in Uttarakhand hills and is required to be explored adequately. French bean germplasm was collected from Garhwal hills of Uttarakhand and screened for anthracnose resistance using SCAR markers. Accession GFB-3 and GFB-30 were found resistant for anthracnose under in-vitro and field conditions as well. Both the accessions showed the presence of multiple resistance genes for anthracnose in them.