Resistance to Meloidogyne paranaensis in wild Coffea arabica

Nine accessions of wild Coffea arabica from Ethiopia were evaluated for resistance to Meloidogyne paranaensis. Two well-characterized susceptible and resistant cultivars were used as comparative controls. The experiments were conducted in a growth chamber using a clonal population of M. paranaensis (esterase phenotype P1) originating from Brazil. Resistance and susceptibility to the nematode were evaluated using the number of nematodes (eggs and J2) per plant, number of nematodes per gram of root and the reproduction factor (RF). All wild coffee accessions expressed a resistance response to M. paranaensis similar to that of the resistant control Nemaya (RF < 1.0). These results provide coffee breeders with material whose resistance can be transferred into commercial cultivars.