Recurrent selection as a method to increase resistance to angular spot and grain yield on common bean

Abstract

Regarding the common bean crop, beyond grain yield, the resistance to diseases is always considered by breeders to develop cultivars. Currently, the angular spot (Pseudocercospora griseola) is considered one of the main diseases that reduce yield (Singh e Schwartz, 2010). The symptoms may be observed mainly on leaves and pods, and there are evidences that the resistance to the fungus at those plant organs is a quantitative character controlled by different genes (Borel et al., 2011). For the common bean breeding aiming diseases resistance and increase in grain yield, one of the recommended methods is the recurrent selection. Thus, the objective of this study was to check the efficiency of this method on increasing grain yield and resistance to the angular spot on leaves and pods.