Background and Objective: Charcoal rot caused by Macrophomina phaseolina is known to be a serious threat to cowpea in Burkina Faso. Nowadays, control strategies other than host resistance are not much effective and economical. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify among cowpea germplasm, the genotypes endowed with stable resistance to M. phaseolina.
Materials and Methods: Eighty cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) genotypes including wild, landrace and inbreeding lines were screened for their resistance to Macrophomina phaseolina, the charcoal rot fungus, in greenhouse experiments in Burkina Faso. The test was performed at Kamboinse research station of the Institute of Environment and Agricultural Research (INERA), using two pathogenic strains of M. phaseolina (I2 and I4) selected from a preliminary pathogenicity test involving four isolates. Results: Eight genotypes including 58-57, Bambey-21, CB27, CB46, Gourgou, KN-1, KVx404-8-1 and TVU 14 676 inoculated with the two isolates of M. phaseolina
presented high emergence rates (80-100%). After emergence, five genotypes including B05-5a, B27 07a, CB27, SP369 A Profil-39B and SP88 Profil-13A stayed free of disease during the ten-days period of the study, four genotypes including Komsare, Kaya local, 58-57 and Gaoua local-2 showed low severity (S

Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata, Macrophomina phaseolina, screening, resistance