The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most important grain legume in the human diet, mainly in Africa and Latin America. Argentina is one of the five major producers of the common bean in the world, and the main cultivation areas are concentrated in the northwestern provinces of this country. Crop production of the common bean is often affected by biotic factors like some endemic fungal diseases, which exert a major economic impact on the region. The most important fungal diseases affecting the common bean in Argentina are white mold caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, angular leaf spot caused by Pseudocercospora griseola, web blight and root rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani, which can cause production losses of up to 100% in the region. At the present, the most effective strategy for controlling these diseases is the use of genetic resistance. In this sense, population study and characterization of fungal pathogens are essential for developing cultivars with durable resistance. In this review we report diversity studies carried out on these three fungal pathogens affecting the common bean in northwestern Argentina, analyzing more than 200 isolates by means of molecular, morphological and pathogenic approaches. Also, the screening of physiological resistance in several common bean commercial lines and wild native germplasm is reviewed. This review contributes to the development of sustainable management strategies and cultural practices in bean production aimed to minimize yield losses due to fungal diseases in the common bean.

White mold caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is a devastating disease that affects the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris. L) crop worldwide. In Argentina, white mold has been detected in all bean production areas, reaching seed yield and quality losses up to 100% on susceptible common bean cultivars under favorable weather conditions. The aim of this study was to screen the physiological resistance of 20 common bean accessions to five genetically distinct isolates of S. sclerotiorum collected from the main common bean growing area of Argentina, using the greenhouse straw test. The white mold reaction was scored at 7, 14, and 21 days post-inoculation using a 1 (no disease symptoms) to 9 (severely diseased or dead plants) scale and the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) was determined. Highly significant differences (p < 0.001) were observed between isolates, accessions and genotype x isolate interaction at the three evaluations dates. All cultivars and lines were susceptible at the end of the assessment, except line A 195 which was resistant to white mold against the five isolates tested and was significantly different from all accessions. This work represents a valuable contribution to regional breeding programmes aimed to obtain cultivars with durable resistance.