A high-throughput method for early screening of coffee (Coffea spp.) genotypes for resistance to root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) Luc Villain & Jamel Aribi & Georges Réversat & François Anthony Accepted: 2 August 2010 / Published online: 25 August 2010 # KNPV 2010 Abstract Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) threaten the livelihood of millions of farmers produc- ing coffee worldwide. The use of resistant plants either as cultivars or rootstocks appears to be the single most effective method of control. A screening method was developed to evaluate large populations of plants for resistance to root-knot nematodes. Two coffee cultivars, one susceptible and the other resistant to Meloidogyne paranaensis, were grown under controlled conditions in two substrates: a commercial sieved potting compost and an inert substrate containing sand with a water-absorbent synthetic polymer. Plant growth and development and nematode multiplication were compared for two inoculation dates (2 and 8 weeks after planting) and two evaluation dates (eight and 13 weeks after inoculation). Root growth, but not nematode multi- plication, was influenced by the choice of substrate. Evaluation of the differences in root weight and nematode numbers between the different cultivars, substrates and dates of inoculation suggested that an optimal condition could be defined. The best discrim- ination between susceptible and resistant plants was found in the experiment where inoculation occurred at 2 weeks after planting and evaluation occurred at 8 weeks after inoculation. Because the total duration of this experiment was only 3 months, high- throughput evaluation was possible, opening up new possibilities for screening large germplasm collections and studying the genetic control of root-knot nema- tode resistance in coffee. Keywords Coffee . Meloidogyne . Resistance assessment . Root-knot nematode . Screening method Introduction Root-knot nematodes have become a major threat in the world’ s main coffee-producing countries (Campos and Villain 2005). Seventeen species of Meloidogyne are now acknowledged as parasitic to coffee (Carneiro and Cofcewicz 2008). Resistance to M. exigua Göldi (Anthony et al. 2005) and M. incognita Carneiro, Carneiro, Abrantes, Santos & Almeida (Albuquerque et al. 2010) has been associated with a hypersensitive response, indicating a specific response to the pathogen Eur J Plant Pathol (2010) 128:451–458 DOI 10.1007/s10658-010-9671-4 J. Aribi : G. Réversat : F. Anthony (*) IRD, UMR RPB, BP 64501, 34032 Montpellier Cedex 5, France e-mail: francois.anthony@ird.fr L. Villain CIRAD, UMR RPB, BP 64501, 34032 Montpellier Cedex 5, France