Angular leaf spot caused by the fungus Phaeoisariopsis griseola is a major disease of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) in Brazil. The development of resistant cultivars has been proposed as an effective, efficient and economic way to control the disease. A breeding program aiming to develop cultivars resistant to angular leaf spot starts with the identification and selection of common bean resistance sources. The objective of this work was to characterize 58 common bean cultivars with respect to their reaction to P. griseola races 31.17, 63.19, 63.23 and 63.55. The results showed that cultivars Antioquia 8 and CAL 143, both of Andean origin and Ecuador 299 and Mexico 235 (both of Mesoamerican origin) showed resistance to all four tested races. The cultivars A 193 and Golden Gate 416 showed resistance to three of the four tested races, and can be used as sources of resistance to angular leaf spot. All the other cultivars were susceptible to at least one of the four tested races. The most susceptible were: IPA 7419, Bambuí, CNC, Guanajuato 10-A-5, Black Diamond, Early Gallatin, Jamapa, Kentucky Wonder 780, and the "carioca" type cultivars AN 9022180, Aporé and Carioca 80. The new resistance sources identified in this work could be used in common bean breeding programs aiming to incorporate Andean and Mesoamerican resistance genes to angular leaf spot.
