Abstract
Powdery mildew (PM), caused by Erysiphe pisi DC ex. Saint-Amans, poses a major constraint in pea cultivation, underscoring the identification of resistant genotypes for effective disease management. The current study employed in-vitro, in-vivo, and molecular screening methods to assess the PM reaction behaviour of 11 pea genotypes aiming to identify reliable resistance source. Field assessments during two crop growth phases were carried out at two locations namely Hawalbagh (Almora) and Mukteshwar (Nainital). Among the genotypes tested VP-2020-101 and VP- 2024-55 were categorised as resistant and showed the lowest disease severity at both locations, with significantly limited Disease Incidence (DI) and Percent Disease Index (PDI). These results were corroborated by detached leaf method assay conducted under polyhouse (spore proof chamber) and incubator conditions, where VP-2020-101 and VP- 2024-55 consistently showed minimal sporulation macroscopically and sparse mycelial development microscopically. Molecular validation with gene-specific SCAR markers revealed the presence of resistance genes viz. er1, er2, and Er3 in VP-2020-101, while VP- 2024-55 carried only er1. Marker ScOPE-161600 relaibly tracked er1, while ScOPX-171400 and ScW4637 confirmed the presence of er2 and Er3, respectively. Integrating phen-c and geno-typic data strongly supports VP-2020-101 as a promising donor genotype for pyramiding powdery mildew resistance in the popular garden pea cultivars/genotypes. These findings demonstrate the importance of integrated disease screening approaches to precisely identify robust sources of durable resistance facilitating their effective deployment in future pea breeding programs.
Data availability
The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article.
Abbreviations
- PM:
-
Powdery mildew
- QTL:
-
Quantitative trait loci
- PDI:
-
Percent disease incidence
- S:
-
Susceptible
- MS:
-
Moderately susceptible
- MR:
-
Moderately resistant
- R:
-
Resistant
- PCR:
-
Polymerase chain reaction
- CTAB:
-
Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide
- ICAR-VPKAS:
-
ICAR-Vivekananda parvatiya krishi anusandhan sansthan
- HATs:
-
High-Altitude testing site
- SCAR:
-
Sequence characterized amplified region
- SSR:
-
Simple sequence repeats
Reference
Azmat, M. A. et al. Single recessive gene controls powdery mildew resistance in pea. Int. J. Veg. Sci. 16, 278–286 (2010).
Gupta, A. et al. Identification of SSR markers linked to powdery mildew resistance in table pea (Pisum sativum var. hortense L.). Legume Res. 47(1032), 1038 (2024).
Devi, M., Bilashini, M., Devi, M. T., Jha, A. K., Yumnam, A., Balusamy, A., Verma, V. K., Talang, H. D., Deshmukh, N. A., Rymbai, H. & Assumi, S. R. Yield and yield attributes of garden pea (Pisum sativum var. hortense L.) as influenced by nutrient management practices under agroclimatic conditions of Meghalaya. Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. Appl. Sci. 7, 3447–3454 (2018).
Villalobos Solis, M. I. et al. Fatty acid profiling of the seed oils of some varieties of field peas (Pisum sativum) by RP LC/ESI MS/MS: towards the development of an oilseed pea. Food Chem. 139, 986–993 (2013).
Cousin, R. Peas (Pisum sativum L.). Field Crops Res. 53, 111–130 (1997).
Janani, R. et al. Physiological and biochemical responses of garden pea genotypes under reproductive stage heat stress. Genet. Resour. Crop Evol. 71, 1177–1200 (2024).
Warkentin, T. D., Rashid, K. Y. & Xue, A. G. Fungicidal control of powdery mildew in field pea. Can. J. Plant Sci. 76, 933–935 (1996).
Katoch, V. et al. Molecular mapping of pea powdery mildew resistance gene er2 to pea linkage group III. Mol. Breed. 25, 229–237 (2009).
Carver, T. L. W. & Jones, S. W. Colony development by Erysiphe graminis f. sp. hordei on isolated epidermis of barley coleoptile incubated under continuous light or short day conditions. Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc. 90, 114–116 (1988).
Pheirim, R., Konjengbam, N. S. & Mahanta, M. Molecular markers for powdery mildew in pea (Pisum sativum L.): a review. Legume Res. 45, 399–409 (2022).
Smith, C. G. Production of powdery mildew cleistocarp in a controlled environment. Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc. 55, 355–365 (1970).
Sillero, J. C. et al. Screening techniques and sources of resistance to rusts and mildews in grain legumes. Euphytica 147, 255–272 (2006).
Singh, U. P., Prithviraj, B., Wagner, K. G. & Schumacher, K. G. Effect of ajoene, a constituent of garlic (Allium sativum), on powdery mildew (Erysiphe pisi) of pea (Pisum sativum). J. Plant Dis. Prot. 102, 399–406 (1995).
Harland, S. C. Inheritance of immunity to mildew in Peruvian forms of Pisum sativum. Heredity 2, 263–269 (1948).
Heringa, K. J., Vannorel, A. & Tazelaar, M. F. Resistance to powdery mildew (Erysiphe polygoni D.C.) in peas (Pisum sativum L.). Euphytica 18, 163–169 (1969).
Fondevilla, S., Carver, T. L. W., Moreno, M. T. & Rubiales, D. Identification and characterization of sources of resistance to Erysiphe pisi Syd. Pisum spp. Plant Breed. 126, 113–119 (2007).
Fondevilla, S., Torres, A. M., Moreno, M. T. & Rubiales, D. Identification of a new gene for resistance to powdery mildew in Pisum fulvum, a wild relative of pea. Breed. Sci. 57, 181–184 (2007).
Gawande, V. L. & Patil, J. V. Genetics of powdery mildew (Erysiphe polygoni DC) resistance in mungbean (Vigna radiata L.). Crop Prot. 22, 567–571. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-2194(02)00202-8 (2003).
Pandey, K. K., Pandey, P. K., Kalloo, G. & Banerjee, M. K. Resistance to early blight of tomato with respect to various parameters of disease epidemics. J. Gen. Plant Pathol. 69, 364–371 (2003).
Rasool, M., Akhter, A., Soja, G. & Haider, M. S. Role of biochar, compost and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in the management of tomato early blight disease. Sci. Rep. 11, 6092 (2021).
Awan, Z. A., Shoaib, A. & Khan, K. A. Variations in total phenolics and antioxidant enzymes cause phenotypic variability and differential resistant response in tomato genotypes against early blight disease. Sci. Hortic. 239, 216–223 (2018).
Sharada, P. & Makandar, R. Assessing garden pea germplasm for powdery mildew resistance through disease phenotyping and genotyping using molecular markers. Plant Gene 35, 100425 (2023).
Banyal, D. K. Studies on powdery mildew of pea caused by Erysiphe pisi DC. Ph.D. Thesis Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, India. 80 (1994).
Vaid, A. & Tyagi, P. D. Genetics of powdery mildew resistance in pea. Euphytica 96, 203–206 (1997).
Murray, M. G. & Thompson, W. F. Rapid isolation of high molecular weight plant DNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 8, 4321–4326 (1980).
Ausubel, F. M. et al. Short protocols in molecular biology (Wiley, 1995).
Srivastava, R., Mishra, S., Singh, A. & Mohapatra, T. Development of a coupling phase SCAR marker linked to the powdery mildew resistance gene er1 in pea (Pisum sativum L.). Euphytica 186, 855–866 (2012).
Tiwari, K. R. & Penner, G. A. Identification of coupling and repulsion phase RAPD markers for powdery mildew resistance gene er1 in pea. Can. J. Plant Sci. 78, 361–367 (1998).
Fondevilla, S., Rubiales, D., Moreno, M. T. & Torres, A. M. Identification and validation of RAPD and SCAR markers linked to the gene Er3 conferring resistance to Erysiphe pisi DC in pea. Mol. Breed. 22, 193–200 (2008).
Fondevilla, S. & Rubiales, D. Powdery mildew control in pea: A review. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 32, 401–409 (2012).
Rana, C. et al. In vivo and in vitro validation of powdery mildew resistance in garden pea genotypes. Sci. Rep. 13, 2243 (2023).
Raj, P. et al. Evaluation of powdery mildew resistant pyramid vegetable pea genotypes introgressed with er1 and er2 genes for yield and related traits in mid hills of Himachal Pradesh. Veg. Sci. 51, 335–341 (2024).
Banyal, D. K. & Chand, J. C. Evaluation of pea genotypes for resistance against powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe pisi. Indian Phytopathol. 70, 69–74 (2017).
Özer, N., Kün, A. & İlbi, H. Detached leaf test for evaluation of resistance to powdery mildew in pepper. Agric Res. Technol. Open Access J. 14, 555923 (2018).
Miller Butler, M. A., Smith, B. J. & Babiker, E. M. Comparison of whole plant and detached leaf screening techniques for identifying anthracnose resistance in strawberry plants. Plant Dis. 102, 2112–2119 (2018).
Sharma, N. Evaluation of varietal susceptibility in pea to Erysiphe polygoni. Ann. Appl. Biol. 120, 110–111 (1992).
Thakur, B. R., Kapoor, A. S. & Jamwal, R. S. Varietal resistance of pea to powdery mildew in dry temperature zone of Himachal Pradesh. Indian Phytopathol. 49, 92–93 (1996).
Javid, M. et al. Validation of molecular markers associated with boron tolerance, powdery mildew resistance, and salinity tolerance in field peas. Front. Plant Sci. 6, 917 (2015).
Sharma, A. et al. Development of new powdery mildew resistant lines in garden pea (Pisum sativum L.) using induced mutagenesis and validation of resistance for the er1 and er2 gene through molecular markers. Front. Plant Sci. 15, 1501661 (2025).
Devi, J. et al. Gene based resistance to Erysiphe species causing powdery mildew disease in peas (Pisum sativum L.). Genes 13, 316 (2022).
Tiwari, K. R., Penner, G. A. & Warkentin, T. D. Inheritance of powdery mildew resistance in pea. Can. J. Plant Sci. 77, 307–310 (1997).
Acknowledgment
Authors are highly thankful to the Director, ICAR- VPKAS, Almora, Uttarakhand and Indian Council of Agriculture (ICAR) for consortium research project (CRP) on molecular breeding (Garden peas)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
NKH: Conceptualization, reviewing and editing, SS: Conceptualization, Investigation, Data Curation, Formal analysis, Writing - Original Draft; KKM: Pathological investigation AS: Investigation and data curation, writing original draft, AT: Data curation and writing review, RD: reviewing and editing, SK: Supervised molecular work, reviewing and editing LK: Resources, Supervision and reviewing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Ethics
This study does not involve any human or animal participation.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Hedau, N.K., Santhiya, S., Mishra, K.K. et al. Gene-specific marker and trait-based evaluation of powdery mildew resistance in garden pea (Pisum sativum var Hortense L.). Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38836-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38836-6
