Abstract
Bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd.) is a legume well adapted to cultivation in marginal areas, being an important source of protein for animal feed in low input cropping systems. Surprisingly, it is an underutilized crop as it could be a good alternative to increase the sustainability of extensive rainfed cropping systems. In Mediterranean rainfed cropping systems, the productivity of bitter vetch is severely reduced by the parasitic weed species Orobanche crenata (Forsk). To date, few resistant bitter vetch genotypes have been identified. O. crenata infection process initiates with the recognition of germination factors exuded by roots of susceptible hosts. In this work, the interaction of a collection of bitter vetch accessions and O. crenata has been analyzed in order to discover accessions with low germination induction activity. Through a combination of field and rhizotron experiments, two bitter vetch accessions were selected showing low germination-induction activity, which resulted in less infection. In addition, in vitro germination assays revealed that the low germination activity was due to low exudation of germination factors and not due to the exudation of germination inhibitors. The selected low germination-inducers genotypes could be the basis for a new breeding program generating locally adapted alternatives with resistance to O. crenata.
Highlights
Bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd.) is one of the oldest cultivated grain legume crops [1], whose origin is located in the Mediterranean and Middle East area [2]
O. crenata seeds interacting in close proximity with bitter vetch roots showed low germination rates
In addition to studying the stimulatory effect of bitter vetch root exudates on the legume-specialized broomrape species O. crenata and O. minor, we studied their effect in the broomrape species P. ramosa, which is a generalist parasite of many vegetable crops [8]
Summary
Bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd.) is one of the oldest cultivated grain legume crops [1], whose origin is located in the Mediterranean and Middle East area [2]. It is grown as a forage and grain crop [3]. 2018 reached 54,900 ha with an average of grain yield of 1150 kg/ha [4]. It is an annual, predominantly self-pollinated species, tolerant to marginal soils, and drought and cold climate conditions [5]. There is a need to find sources of resistance in germplasm collections of crop species and
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