Resistance toErwinia spp. in diploid potato with a high starch content

Summary Tubers of diploid interspecific hybrids, hexaploid somatic hybrids ofSolanum tuberosum andSolanum brevidens, a fusion parental line (S. tuberosum) and several Polish and American commercial cultivars were screened for resistance toErwinia carotovora subsp.atroseptica andErwinia chrysanthemi, in laboratory tests. Both groups of hybrids showed a high level of resistance to soft rot and gave a similar type of resistant reaction, which distinguished them from the cultivars and fusion parent. Tubers of the diploid interspecific hybrids had a high starch content. Our results indicate the possibility of obtaining breeding material with a high starch content and resistance to bacterial soft rot.     

Breeding potato cultivars with tubers resistant toPhytophthora infestans

Summary Available information has been reviewed on tuber resistance toP. infestans, its inheritance and breeding procedures used to obtain potato cultivars superior in this character. P. infestans is worldwide the most destructive potato pathogen. Tuber resistance is an essential component of potato resistance as this pathogen is often responsible for tuber rot in storage, and infected tubers of susceptible cultivars provide an important way for its overwintering. In Europe many cultivars and advanced breeders selections have been obtained with tuber resistance toP. infestans, but in the last decades no progress is noted in the mean level of this resistance in cultivars. The expression of tuber resistance depends to a large extent on testing conditions and therefore it can be difficult to evaluate. Consequently making progress in breeding is not easy, and also cultivar assessment data from various countries sometimes differ considerably. It is concluded from published data that it should be easier to make progress in breeding potato cultivars with resistant tubers if more attention is paid to combining the various types of resistance which are already known, and if the genetic determination of durable resistance toP. infestans is better understood. Professor Dr. K.M. Świeżyński passed away on 27th July 2000     

Foliar and tuber assessment of late blight (Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary) reaction in cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Summary Host plant resistance is an important component to the management of potato late blight,Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary. Assessment of potato lines (Solanum tuberosum L.) with various levels of resistance toP. infestans (US8, A2 genotype) were evaluated in field trials, greenhouse controlled environment chambers and inoculated tuber reactions. Five lines (AWN86514-2, B0692-4, B0718-3, Jacqueline Lee, and B0288-17) with strong foliar resistance to late blight were identified in these inoculated field trials. Greenhouse controlled environment chamber studies allowed resistant and susceptible lines to be distinguished, but the 1998 greenhouse results did not correlate well with field data. Four lines (A084275-3, Bzura, MSG007-1, and MSG297-4RD) evaluated by a digital image analysis technique demonstrated tuber resistance based upon average reflective index values in the inoculated tuber studies. Tuber resistance did not correlate with field foliar resistance. Based upon these results, field assessment of foliar reaction toP. infestans provides the best measure for assessing late blight resistance in potato. Tuber resistance to late blight can be identified among lines with varying levels of foliar resistance.     

Reaction toPhytophthora infestans of potato genotypes with race-specific resistance

Summary Phytophthora infestans isolates collected in Poland in 1987–1995 were evaluated on detached leaflets of a differential series consisting of potato genotypes possessing resistance genes R1–R11. On the same differentials was evaluated over three years a highly virulentP. infestans isolate MP 245. Isolate MP 245 and those from natural populations ofP. infestans were seldom or inconsistently pathogenic to R5, R8 and R9. When leaflets of the differentials were infected with MP 245 the lesions were often small and sporulation weak. A statistically significant interaction was found between years and pathogenicity of MP 245 to individual differentials. Attempts to train the isolate MP 245 for pathogenicity to R9 were unsuccessful. The variation in specific resistance of potato genotypes may complicate the evaluation of their resistance toP. infestans, as well as the evaluation of the virulence spectrum of natural fungus populations. This variation may be due to changes in specific pathogenicity of the fungus or in specific resistance of the potato. Some differentials have a possibly useful resistance toP. infestans.     

Effect of haulm treatment and harvest time on incidence of tuber rots of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) after standard wounding and on frequency of stem lesions caused byPhoma foveata Foister

Summary Various haulm treatments and harvest times differentially influenced the incidence of storage rots in potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum L.) in field experiments in Sweden performed over 4 years. The incidence of gangrene caused byPhoma foveata Foister (Phoma exigua var.foveata (Foister) Boerema) increased in cv. Bellona after spraying haulms with diquat as did the amount of infection caused byFusarium avenaceum (Corda ex. Fr.) Sacc. in all three cultivars (Bintje, Bellona, and Magnum Bonum). The lowestP. foveata infection levels occurred after pulling haulms. Late harvesting increased the frequency ofP. foveata in cvs Bintje and Bellona both at 2 and 4 wks interval between haulm treatment and harvest. Tuber and visible stem infection caused byP. foveata were correlated for cvs Bintje and Bellona, but not for cv. Magnum Bonum. The possible relation between tuber and stem infection is discussed.     

Identification of potato interspecific hybrids resistant toVerticillium wilt and determination of criteria for resistance assessment

Summary Verticillium dahliae causes potato (Solanum tuberosum) early dying disease. Interspecific hybrids containingS. tuberosum, S. berthaultii, S. bukasovii, S. chacoense, S. gourlayi, S. sparsipilum andS. tarijense were identified with resistance toV. dahliae. Clones were grown in replicated trials for three years in a plot containing approximately 50 colony forming units (cfu)V. dahliae per g soil. Clones were evaluated for vine maturity, early dying symptoms and stem colonization. Five resistant 2x clones were identified with early maturity and low levels of stem colonization. A single maturity score and one disease score, each obtained in mid-August, were sufficient to distinguish among clones. An effective threshold level for considering a stem to be infected was determined to be 25 cfu/100 μl sap. Early dying symptoms did not correlate strongly with stem colonization. Numerous stems must be sampled when making resistance assessments. The average cfu/100 μl sap correlated strongly with the number of infected stems.     

Soft rot and blackleg reactions in diploid potato hybrids inoculated withErwinia spp.

From 1993 to 1996 three groups of potato genotypes were evaluated for resistance toErwinia spp.: (1) 31 interspecific diploid hybrids (28 resistant and three susceptible), (2) five hexaploid or pentaploid somatic hybrids ofSolanum tuberosum (tbr) ×S. brevidens (brd), and (3) eight cultivars. Two evaluation methods were applied: tuber point inoculation with eitherErwinia carotovora ssp.atroseptica (Eca) orE. chrysanthemi (Ech) to test tuber soft rot resistance and stem base inoculation with Eca to test blackleg resistance. Some resistant diploid hybrids and somatic hybrids oftbr × brd were superior to cultivars for both tuber and stem resistance. Tuber and stem resistance toErwinia spp. in the most resistant diploid hybrids were equal to the highly resistant somatic hybrids oftbr xbrd. Tuber resistance to Eca was highly correlated to tuber resistance to Ech (r=0.815***). In two years of evaluation for stem resistance, three diploid hybrids and a derivative of one of the somatic hybrids (USA M 264) failed to develop symptoms of blackleg following inoculation with Eca, Analyses of variance for tuber and stem resistance indicated significant effects of genotype, year and genotype × year interaction. A positive relationship between tuber and stem resistance toErwinia spp. has been found, however the genetic control of resistance in tuber and stem is partially independent. In the case of Eca the correlation coefficient was r = 0.725***. Therefore it should be possible to obtain resistant genotypes to both blackleg and tuber soft rot. Several resistant diploid hybrids were selected from among those tested, which also have several other characters desirable for potato breeders.     

Foliar reaction toPhytophthora infestans in inoculated potato field trials in Michigan

Late blight, caused byPhytophthora infestans, is the most important disease of potato worldwide and foliar resistance is an important component of managing late blight in the field. The objective of this research was to identify germplasm for use in breeding cultivars with foliar resistance toP. infestans. More than 500 clones were tested from 1997 to 2002 in inoculated (US8 genotype) field experiments conducted at the Michigan State University Muck Soils Research Farm in Bath, Michigan. All of the current commercial cultivars tested were classified as susceptible toP. infestans. The most resistant clones were A90586-11, AWN86514-2, B0718-3, Jacqueline Lee (MSG274-3), MSI152-A, MSJ307-2, MSJ317-1, MSJ453-4Y, MSJ456-2, MSJ456-4, MSJ461-1, MSK101-2, MSK128-1, NY121, LBR8, LBR9, Tollocan, and Torridon. Some of these resistant selections were from crosses with B0718-3, Jacqueline Lee, and Tollocan suggesting that the resistance toP. infestans was transmissible. These resistant clones will provide the opportunity to breed late-blight-resistant cultivars from a diverse pool of cultivated germplasm. Consistent foliar reaction toP. infestans over years suggested that the Michigan State University Muck Soils Research Farm is a valuable location for North American breeders to assess the reaction of potato germplasm to the US8 genotype of late blight.     

Identification of stem soft rot (Erwinia carotovora subspeciesatroseptica) resistance in potato

Development of potato cultivars resistant to Erwinia species (Erwinia carotovora subspeciesatroseptica, E. carotovora subspeciescarotovora, andErwinia chrysanthemi) causing soft rot of stems and tubers involves identification and transfer of the resistance to breeding lines possessing desirable agronomic traits. In total, 363 accessions of six wildSolanum species, three somatic hybrids and nine sexual progeny of somatic hybrids were screened for stem soft rot resistance. Thirty-one, 50, and 67 percent of accessions ofSolanum boliviense, Solanum chacoense, and Solanumsanctarosae, respectively, were resistant or highly resistant, whereas, 100, 97, and 95 percent of accessions ofSolanum canasense, Solanum tarijense, andSolanum spegazzinii were susceptible or highly susceptible, respectively. Two tuber soft-rot resistant somatic hybrids, A937 and T355-11 produced earlier by the fusion ofSolanum brevidens (PI 218228) andSolanum tuberosum (PI203900) orS. tuberosum cv. Russet Burbank, respectively, and the sexual progeny of A937 andS. tuberosum cv. Katahdin were also highly resistant. Transfer of resistance fromS. brevidens to somatic hybrid (A937) and subsequently to the progeny suggests that the resistance is simply inherited. In addition to the identification of 65 resistant or highly resistant clones of wildSolanum species, this study has identified three tuber soft rot-resistant clones that are also resistant to stem soft rot. Potato cultivars showed a range of responses to the pathogen.     

In vitro evaluation of resistance of potato cultivars toPhytophthora infestans

Summary The resistance of ten potato cultivars (Agria, Ajax, Désirée, Liseta, Kennebec, Majestic. Monalisa, Prima, Spunta and Tonda di Berlino) toPhytophthora infestans was analyzed in vitro using 8 fungal strains. An assay based on electrolyte leakage was used for screening leaves and tuber tissues with fungal culture filtrates. With almost all cultivars the resistance of leaves did not correlate with the resistance of tubers. Cv. Ajax appeared the least susceptible in both leaf and tuber tests, while the cv. Prima was the most susceptible in tuber tests.     

Variation in resistance toPhytophthora infestans among 21Solanum verrucosum plant introductions

Detached leaflets of 21Solanum verrucosum plant introductions (PIs) were inoculated with two races ofPhytophthora infestans to evaluate levels of resistance present within this species. Inoculated leaflets were visually evaluated for the percentage area colonized byP. infestans and the intensity of sporulation over the colonized area. Disease reactions ranged from moderately susceptible to highly resistant (immune). Significant plant-to-plant heterogeneity for resistance was observed within many of the PIs, indicating that they may represent mixtures of different genotypes. Hypersensitive flecks were observed on some inoculated leaflets of all PIs tested. Adult plant reactions showed moderate agreement with those obtained by other workers on seedling populations of several PIs. These results support the hypothesis that R-genes and polygenes for resistance toP. infestans exist withinS. verrucosum accessions. This species thus may provide a useful source of novel late blight resistance genes.     

Evaluation of diploid potato clones for resistance to tuber soft rot induced by strains ofErwinia carotovora subsp.atroseptica,E. carotovora subsp.carotovora andE. chrysanthemi

Summary Tubers of clones from a diploid hybrid population ofSolanum phureja andS. stenotomum were screened for resistance to tuber soft rot caused by strains ofErwinia carotovora subsp.atroseptica (Eca),E. carotovora subsp.carotovora (Ecc) andE. chrysanthemi (Ech). Significant, positive correlations between resistance to the different strains and species were observed, indicating that screening for resistance to tuber soft rot could be accomplished by using just one of the three pathogens. Strains of Ecc and Ech were found to be much more virulent than strains of Eca. Inoculating with Ecc and Ech resulted in more distinct differences among susceptible, moderately resistant and resistant clones than inoculating with Eca.     

不同玉米品种抗蚜性室内鉴定

采用环境气候室人工接蚜虫鉴定和累计蚜情指数(I_(aa))评判法,对22份玉米品种进行抗玉米蚜Rhopalosiphum maidis Fitch鉴定。结果表明,不同玉米品种的抗蚜性差异显著,在抗性品种上玉米蚜种群数量为负增长,产生的有翅蚜少;在感虫品种上玉米蚜种群数量急剧增长,并伴随大量有翅蚜产生。I_(aa)值从高抗蚜品种的1.1到高感品种的31.4。高感或感蚜品种9个,占比41%;中抗和抗蚜品种4个,占比18%;高抗品种9个,占比41%。生产上推广种植面积较大的京科968和先玉335等具有中等抗蚜水平,郑单958等高感蚜虫。     

Systemic induced resistance to late blight in potato by treatment with salicylic acid andPhytophthora cryptogea

Summary Tests for systemic induced resistance (SIR) to late blight were performed with different potato cultivars in field trials and in growth chamber experiments. The non-pathogenPhytophthora cryptogea (Pc) and salicylic acid (Sa) were used as inducer agents. In the field, plants were naturally infected byPhytophthora infestans while the indoor plants were inoculated. The degree of SIR obtained varied with the cultivar used and also with the type of inducer. For example in the field the susceptible cv. St. Cecilia had enhanced resistance with Pc whereas Sa caused increased susceptibility. Inbred resistant cvs acquired increased resistance after treatment with Sa. In a separate pilot experiment in a growth chamber, Sa at two different concentrations was injected into potato seed tubers before planting. The higher Sa concentration increased resistance in genetically resistant cultivars while the lower Sa concentration brought about increased susceptibility.     

Comparison of resistance evaluation in potato variety assessment

Summary Results of varietal assessment in France, Germany, Great Britain. The Netherlands and Poland have been compared for two characters: resistance to potato virus Y (PVY) and tuber resistance toPhytophthora infestans. In total 75 varieties were evaluated in more than one country. All evaluations were expressed or could be transformed into a 9-grade resistance scale. Evaluations did differ considerably due to two main reasons: countries differed in severity of evaluation (mean resistance level ascribed to varieties) and the relative resistance level ascribed to individual varieties depended on the country. Differences between countries in severity of the evaluation could exceed two grades in resistance to PVY and three grades in tuber resistance toP. infestans. In the relative resistance ascribed to individual varieties the differences between countries were larger, reaching up to 6 grades in evaluation of resistance to PVY and up to 8 grades in evaluation of tuber resistance toP. infestans. To achieve consistent variety assessment results from different countries, it will be necessary to use agreed standard varieties and more consistent evaluation methods. Professor Dr. K.M. Świeżyński passed away on 27th July 2000     

Erwinia carotovora subsp.atroseptica infection promotes verticillium wilt development in potato in Israel

Summary The interaction betweenErwinia carotovora subsp.atroseptica (Eca) andVerticillium dahliae and its effect on symptom development in potato cultivars showing different degrees of resistance to them was examined over two seasons in irrigated fields in a hot, dry climate. Four cultivars were used: Cara, highly resistant to blackleg and tolerant to Verticillium wilt; Pentland Crown also resistant to blackleg but susceptible to Verticillium wilt; Désirée, moderately susceptible to blackleg but tolerant to Verticillium wilt; and Maris Bard, susceptible to both diseases. Seed tubers were inoculated with Eca immediately after harvest in Scotland, to simulate natural infection, and then planted in Israel in soil naturally infested byV. dahliae. In Verticillium tolerant cultivars, Eca infection increased the rate of colonization byV. dahliae and significantly enhanced symptom development, as assessed by suppression of plant height and wilt symptoms. This report is a portion of the Ph.D. thesis of the senior author in Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.     

Erwinia resistance in backcross progenies ofSolanum tuberosum x S. tarijense andS. tuberosum (+) S. commersonii hybrids

Summary The resistance to tuber soft rot caused byErwinia carotovora ofSolanum tuberosum x S. tarijense andS. tuberosum (+) S. commersonii hybrids and their backcrosses is reported. A number of resistant diploid sexual hybrids and tetraploid/hexaploid somatic hybrids were selected. Backcross progenies were obtained through 2x×4x crosses involving a resistant diploid hybrid and tetraploidS. tuberosum, and through 4x×4x crosses between a resistant somatic hybrid andS. tuberosum. The hybrids showed high variability interms of resistance to tuber soft rot. The resistance of progeny from 2x×4x backcrosses was similar to that of the parental sexual hybrid. By contrast, the resistance of genotypes deriving from 4x×4x backcrosses was reduced compared with the resistant somatic hybrid. In general, tuber characteristics of the backcross hybrids improved considerably as compared with their parents, and tuber yield per plant was good.     

Susceptibility of five nightshade (Solanum) species tophytophthora infestans

The susceptibility of leaves and berries of five night-shade species to infection by the potato late blight pathogenPhytophthora infestans was tested. American black nightshade (Solanum americanum) and eastern black nightshade (Solanum ptycanthum) were resistant to infection. However, two accessions (entire-edged and dentate-edged leaf) of hairy nightshade (Solanum sarrachoides), cutleaf nightshade (Solanum triflorum), and bitter or climbing nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) were susceptible. Survival of the pathogen in susceptible species was tested under different environmental conditions. The pathogen survived for at least 2 wk in both hairy nightshade accessions when plant material was kept in soil at a temperature of 20 C. However,P. infestans survived 48 h at ?15 C only in the entire-leaf hairy nightshade accession. In the laboratory, oospores of the pathogen were formed in inoculated plants of the two hairy nightshade accessions, cutleaf nightshade, and ‘Russet Burbank’ potato, but not in American black nightshade, bitter nightshade, or eastern black nightshade.     

Inheritance of resistance toFusarium spp. and toPhytophthora infestans in crosses between Neotuberosum and Tuberosum potatoes estimated by seedling tests

Summary Neotuberosum clones with differing levels of resistance toFusarium coeruleum andFurarium sulphureum, and putative resistance toPhytophthora infestans, were selected and used in crosses with Tuberosum clones. The resulting progenies were assessed for their resistance to each of these pathogens and for breeders' preference. There was little correlation between disease scores for the twoFusarium species (r=0.21 and 0.34 for the Neotuberosum and hybrid clones respectively), indicating that resistance to each species is distinct. Statistical analyses revealed differences between the Neotuberosum parents and between the Tuberosum parents for all traits, but the Neotuberosum differences for late blight were not significant (P=0.10–0.05) when tested against the interaction between the two sets of parents. The interaction was significant forF. coeruleum and breeders' preference, but notF. sulphureum. No reciprocal differences were found. The only statistically significant correlation between traits for the 72 progenies was a small one (r=0.33; P=0.01–0.001) between the twoFusarium species; for all other pairs of traits r was less than 0.10. It is concluded that there are good prospects for combinding resistances to the twoFusarium species from different sources and also for achieving high levels of other desirable characteristics.     

Resistance to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Potato virus Y</Emphasis> in a Multitrait Potato Breeding Scheme without Direct Selection in Each Generation

In an experimental breeding scheme to improve late blight (Phytophthora infestans) and white potato cyst nematode (Globodera pallida) resistance of tetraploid potato over three generations of crossing and selection, 15 clones survived the final selection, and these were derived from 15 great-grandparents. There was no direct selection for resistance to Potato virus Y (PVY), but 14 out of the 15 great-grandparents were resistant to PVY and three had extreme resistance. Thirteen of the 15 descendants had PVY resistance and one extreme resistance. This was within the range expected for a random (unselected) sample from the genotypes of the great-grandparents. Hence, we found no evidence for any positive or negative association between PVY resistance and the attributes selected. The conclusion is that laborious selection is not required in every generation when many parents have PVY resistance, including some with more than one copy of a PVY resistance gene or resistance at more than one locus. However, in the future, determining the major virus resistance genes present in potential parents in each generation using diagnostic molecular markers would prevent susceptible × susceptible crosses being made and maximise the number of resistant × resistant ones.