Field Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an important food crop ranks fourth among pulse crops in Ethiopia. The yield of field pea is hampered due to the prevalence of powdery mildew disease. In view of the cost-effective solution for powdery mildew disease, host plant resistance is one of the most widely used control measure for this disease. Sixty nine field pea gene pools including one released variety were screened against Powdery Mildew using an Augmented Block Design with four blocks in Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center during 2018/19 main cropping season. Results from present study revealed that considerable variation was found for resistance against powdery mildew disease. High degree of severity showed at late (after pod setting) stage than earlier stage. Out of the total 69 genotypes 12 were resistant, 27 were moderately resistant, 25 were moderately susceptible and 5 were susceptible to powdery mildew disease. Among 12 resistant genotypes; GPHA-9 and GPHA-19 were high yielder and GPHA-29, GPHA-48, GPHA-45 and GPHA-42 genotypes were found to be high yielding among 27 moderately resistant genotypes. The resistant genotypes identified could be exploited directly and also may be transferred through hybridization to high yielding disease susceptible genotypes.

Keywords: Germplasm, powdery mildew, host plant resistance, cost-effective