Interactions of Phytophthora capsici with Resistant and Susceptible Pepper Roots and Stems

Using host resistance is an important strategy for managing pepper root and crown rot caused by Phytophthora capsici. An isolate of P. capsici constitutively expressing a gene for green fluorescent protein was used to investigate pathogen interactions with roots, crowns, and stems of Phytophthora-susceptible bell pepper ‘Red Knight’, Phytophthora-resistant bell pepper ‘Paladin’, and Phytophthora-resistant landrace Criollos de Morelos 334 (CM-334). In this study, the same number of zoospores attached to and germinated on roots of all cultivars 30 and 120 min postinoculation (pi), respectively. At 3 days pi, significantly more secondary roots had necrotic lesions on Red Knight than on Paladin and CM-334 plants. By 4 days pi, necrotic lesions had formed on the taproot of Red Knight but not Paladin or CM-334 plants. Although hyphae were visible in the crowns and stems of all Red Knight plants observed at 4 days pi, hyphae were observed in crowns of only a few Paladin and in no CM-334 plants, and never in stems of either resistant cultivar at 4 days pi. These results improve our understanding of how P. capsici infects plants and may contribute to the use of resistant pepper cultivars for disease management and the development of new cultivars.