Colonization and sporulation of Peronospora viciae on cultivars of Pisum sativum

The behaviour of Peronospora viciae was examined on four pea ( Pisum sativum ) cultivars (Maro, Superb, Victory Freezer and Surprise) which appeared to exhibit varying degrees of resistance to this pathogen. Penetration into all cultivars was similar and mainly by direct entry through the cuticle. The pathogen grew in a similar manner and at a similar rate in all the cultivars during the early stages (<96 h) of tissue colonization. As it approached the onset of sporulation its growth slowed down in the more resistant cultivars but in no instance were any hypersensitive or other host cell reactions observed. Greater differences between the cultivars were seen in the extent of sporulation, with the least resistant cultivar (Superb) bearing the largest number of sporangiospores. There was much less sporulation on the most resistant cultivar (Maro) and the process was more dependent on temperature than it was on Superb. The development of mature plant resistance occurred in a similar way and on a similar time-scale in all cultivars. The youngest leaflets on plants which were less than 8 weeks old at inoculation showed the least resistance to infection and colonization.