Frogeye leaf spot of soybean:: A review and proposed race designations for isolates of Cercospora sojina Hara

Frogeye leaf spot (FLS), caused by Cercospora sojina K. Hara, is a common disease of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in most soybean-growing countries of the world. Significant yield losses of soybean (10-60%) have-been attributed to FLS under hot and humid growing conditions. The FLS in the southern United States has been kept under control by planting resistant cultivars. Cercospora sojina is a dynamic pathogen with extensive virulence or race diversity. The current number of C. sojina isolates at the University of Georgia collection is 93. Assigning race designations to this large number of isolates has been difficult because of the lack of a well-defined set of differentials. To facilitate future studies of the genetics of soybean resistance to FLS and the identification and comparison of existing and future races of C. sojina, we have reassessed both the soybean differentials and the C. sojina races. Based on the reactions of 93 isolates of C. sojina on 38 putative soybean differentials, we propose a core set of 12 differentials and 11 races that represent the major diversity among the 93 C. sojina isolates. The definition of these 12 differentials and 11 races should provide the foundation for the identification and comparison of additional soybean resistance genes and new races of C. sojina.