Marker-assisted selection to determine downy and powdery mildew resistance in ‘Manisa Sultanı’ × ‘Regent’ crossing population using Rpv3.1 and Ren9 gene associated markers

‘Sultani Çekirdeksiz’ (syn. ‘Sultana’, ‘Sultanina’) is one of the most grown grape cultivars in the world, which is evaluated both for table grapes and raisin. However, powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator Schw) and downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola), which are fungal diseases, cause the most important problem in cultivation. Today, many fungicides are used to management with these diseases, and unfortunately it is getting very difficult since it becomes resistant to fungicides. However, cultivation using resistant cultivars is among the most effective management and also environmentally friendly. In breeding programs, classical breeding methods have many problems such as it taking a long time, environmental factors, labor, etc. All these problems can be overcome by using molecular markers. The present work, a total of 94 F₁ genotypes taken from crossing ‘Manisa Sultanı’ (♀) (susceptible) × ‘Regent’ (♂) (resistance to both diseases) were screened for resistance associated alleles of molecular markers for the loci Rpv3.1 and Ren9 gene (inherited from ‘Regent’) to downy mildew (DM) and powdery mildew (PM). The primers used: ScORA7-760 SCAR primer to powdery mildew resistant QTL, GF18-06 and GF15-58 SSR primers for the loci Rpv3.1 and Ren9, respectively. It was determined that 28 genotypes were resistant to PM, 41 genotypes to DM and 8 genotypes to both diseases. Therefore, these markers are recommended for marker-assisted selection (MAS) to downy and powdery mildew resistant grape breeding programs.