2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a clonally propagated root crop that is a staple of Pacific Islanders. Taro leaf blight (TLB) is the most devastating disease of taro in Hawaiʻi and the world. This disease is typically controlled by the use of fungicides, which are costly. Genetic resistance has been identified in taro populations from Palau. Here we explore the genetic architecture of TLB resistance in several breeding populations with resistant material being incorporated into the existing University of Hawaii taro breeding program. We have developed two mapping populations: 1) one F₂ population based on self-pollinating cultivar 230 (Hawaiian landrace Moi x TLB resistant Palauan landrace Dirratengadik); and 2) an F₁ mapping population based on crossing 230 with another breeding cultivar 255 [(Hawaiian landrace Red Moi x TLB resistant Papua New Guinean landrace PH15) x TLB resistant Indonesian landrace Sawahn Kurasae]. We have developed a linkage map based on these two populations using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers to identify QTLs linked with TLB resistance, both in field trials and laboratory assays.