Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the resistance to coffee leaf rust (CLR),
caused by Hemileia vastatrix and to Ceratocystis canker (Cc) in coffee genotypes derived
from crosses of Coffea arabica var. Caturra with accessions of C. canephora backcrossed to
Caturra. Twenty-three (F3BC1) progenies including C. arabica var. Caturra and var. Colombia
as controls were established in a field experiment. CLR evaluations were made during five
years of natural infection, using an incidence rating scale. For Cc, artificial stem inoculations
were made with an isolate of Ceratocystis colombiana and the results were assessed after one
year. The selection process also included agronomic aspects such as plant height, canopy
diameter, number of branch pairs, yield and grain characteristics. Twenty progenies showed
>70% of rust resistance. Twelve progenies exhibited >80% of Cc resistance, while no
resistance was observed in the controls. Only three progenies performed well for all criteria,
including resistance to both pathogens and agronomic characteristics.
