Racial diversity in Uromyces appendiculatus causing French bean rust

French bean rust, caused by Uromyces appendiculatus (Pers.), is a devastating disease that poses a significant threat to bean production worldwide. The high genetic variability of this pathogen is a major challenge in developing rust-resistant French bean cultivars. To address this challenge, 20 single pustule U. appendiculatus isolates (Ua1–Ua20) collected from different locations in India were morphologically and pathologically evaluated on the International French bean rust differential set. Binary nomenclature classified these isolates into seven races: 5-0, 5-3, 15-2, 37-0, 37-2, 39-0, and 39-2. The genetic diversity of these isolates was further explored using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, and 15 out of the 20 markers successfully amplified the genomic DNA of the isolates. An average of 3.86 bands per primer and 94.82% polymorphism were observed. The similarity coefficient among all isolates ranged from 44 to 100%, with an average of 72%. Notably, Ua4, Ua8, Ua9, Ua14, Ua16, and Ua19 isolates exhibited 100% similarity coefficients, while Ua10 and Ua20 showed the least similarity to others. The Ua1 and Ua11 isolates from the Solan district formed a distinctive sub-cluster with minimal variability. Cultivars from the Mesoamerican gene pool such as CNC, GN1140, Mex 235, Mex 309, and P1181996 exhibited resistance to all the identified races. Therefore, incorporating Ur-CNC, Ur-3+, Ur-5, Ur-7, and Ur-11 genes into Indian French bean varieties emerges as a promising strategy to control U. appendiculatus.