The effect of seed-and soilborne inoculum ofColletotrichum coccodes on the incidence of black dot on potatoes

Summary Soil in a potato field naturally infested with black dot (Colletotrichum coccodes) was fumigated with methyl bromide at 126 g m⁻² or left unfumigated. Potato seed tubers (cv. BP1) uninfected, lightly infected (1–25% surface affected), severely infected (26–100% surface affected) and severely infected withC. coccodes but dusted with prochloraz manganese chloride as Octave 2.5% DP at 750 g per 100 kg seed were planted in fumigated and unfumigated soil. When harvested, the incidence of black dot on the progeny of infected seed planted in unfumigated soil was twice that of progeny in fumigated soil, with progeny of uninfected seed having a 68.5 times higher disease incidence in unfumigated soil. Black dot on progeny tubers was reduced by pre-treatment of seed with prochloraz in fumigated soil only. With black dot infested fields, planting disease-free seed or treating seed with fungicides would not decrease disease on progeny tubers.     

Comparative performance of three small seed tuber sizes and standard size seed tubers planted at similar stem densities

Summary Small seed tubers of 1–5 g, 5–10 g and 10–20 g were planted at the same sprout densities as standard size seed tubers of 40–60 g in order to give similar stem densities. Early ground cover by foliage, total yield, and yield of tubers >45 mm were consistently greater in plots planted with larger seed tubers. The effect of seed tuber size on yield and tuber number per stem varied between years but 1–5 g seed tubers always gave lower yields per stem than larger seed tubers. Reducing the spacing between rows from 90 cm to 60 cm and maintaining the same sprout density was more effective in increasing yields from small seed tubers than increasing sprout density from 20 to 40 sprouts per m² by reducing plant spacing within the row.     

The dependence of internal brown spot development upon calcium fertility in potato tubers

Summary To determine calcium fertility and high temperature effects on internal brown spot development in potato, cv. Russet Burbank plants were fertilised with Hoagland's nutrient solution with or without calcium. Prevalence and severity of internal brown spot were greatest in tubers receiving no calcium fertilisation during growth. Internal brown spot was evident as early as tuber initiation. A high growth medium temperature (32°C) at tuber maturity with a lack of calcium increased internal brown spot incidence and severity. No tubers subjected to the high temperature and fertilised with calcium developed internal brown spot. Peel calcium concentration of tubers receiving no calcium fertilisation was lower (0.5–0.8 g/kg) than tubers receiving calcium (1.2–1.9 g/kg). Medullary tissue calcium concentration was similar under both calcium regimes. Calcium availability during early tuber growth was an influential factor in internal brown spot development, however high temperature effects may not be discounted in exacerbating the disorder. H/LA Paper No. 95-7. Project No. 1984, College of Agriculture and Home Economics Research Center, Pullman WA 99164, USA     

The effect of water stress on the yielding capacity of potato crops and subsequent performance of seed tubers

Summary The effect of water stress on yielding capacity of potatoes was studied in 3 years using four different levels of soil water potential (0.7, 1.9, 3.4 and 7.8 atm.) in experiments in specially adapted structures that excluded uncontrolled water supply. Seed tubers from these crops were planted in the following years to investigate effects of water stress on their subsequent performance. Limited soil moisture availability decreased yield and the number and size of tubers. The growing period was shortened by 1–4 weeks and dormancy period by 2–8 weeks. In the following year, seed produced under conditions of moisture stress gave plants with 20% fewer stems. 24–33% less yield, 18–22% fewer tubers and 19–22% fewer large tubers than plants from seed produced under abundant water supply. It is concluded that the yield potential of seed tubers can be improved by careful attention to the availability of soil moisture during their production.     

Wild tuber-bearing species ofSolanum and incidence ofPhytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary on the Western slopes of the volcano Nevado de Toluca. 2. Distribution ofPhytophthora infestans

Summary An area of 15 000 ha on the Western slopes of the volcano Nevado de Toluca was surveyed during 1982–1986. The occurrence of late blight (Phytophthora infestans) was studied in 1986 along five long (7–10 km) transects from an altitude of 2900 m to 3900 m, the upper limit ofSolanum demissum (dms) and in all years in some other sites. Late blight was confined to scattered pockets, 100–500 m in diameter, separated by several kilometers. In 789 colonies of wildSolanum spp., each consisting of 4 to >100 plants per colony ofdms, verrucosum (ver), iopetalum, brachycarpum, × edinense, stoloniferum or one unidentified species, symptoms were found in 10% of the colonies or less than 1% of the plants in each colony. Plants had few (1–2) lesions which did not affect vigour. No infected tubers were found. Most (64%) of the infected colonies were ofdms, the predominant species (69%). Colonies ofver were less frequent (11%) and 17% were infected. No infected plants were found in the unidentified species, thought to bedms×ver.     

Post-harvest characteristics of potato minitubers with different fresh weights and from different harvests. II. Losses during storage

Summary Storage losses were studied in minitubers of cvs Agria and Liseta, using five fresh weight classes (<0.50 g, 0.5–0.99 g, 1.00–1.99 g, 2.00–2.99 g, ≥3.00 g), and three successive harvests of the same plantlets. After each harvest, tubers were dired at room temperature (1 day), curred at 18 °C (13 days) and stored at 2 °C (540 days). Two kinds of storage losses were considered: (a) losses of entire tubers because of deterioration, and (b) fresh weight losses of the other tubers. Both kinds of losses were higher in cv. Liseta, in tubers with lower fresh weights and in tubers from the first harvest. Almost all minitubers ≥0.5 g from later harvests and from both cultivars survived storage for 1.5 years. Deterioration occurred mainly from 6 to 12 months of storage. Tubers which deteriorated during cold storage had already shown high weight losses during curing.     

Foliar Symptoms Caused by Potato mop-top virus on Potato Plants During Vegetative Propagation in Scotland and Their Association With Tuber Yield, Spraing and Tuber Infection

The effect of foliar symptomatic infection by Potato mop-top virus (PMTV) on yield of tubers, spraing and infection in daughter tubers, and foliar symptom development and tuber infection in the following generations of propagation was investigated in commercial seed potato crops in Scotland. Six crops covering cvs Atlantic, Hermes, Nicola and Cara were studied between 2000 and 2006 by labelling paired replicates of plants with foliar symptoms and plants with no symptoms. Tubers from plants with no symptoms rarely produced plants with foliar symptoms in the following generation. Plants with no symptoms produced more infected tubers if they had been derived from plants with foliar symptoms the previous year than from plants with no symptoms. The proportion of daughter plants with foliar symptoms produced by tubers from plants with foliar symptoms in year 1 ranged from 19–41% and seemed to be associated with the severity of foliar symptoms. The detection of PMTV by ELISA in samples of leaves from plants with foliar symptoms ranged from 13% for cv. Cara to 59% for a crop of cv. Atlantic in 2004. The amounts of spraing were generally low but tended to be greater for tubers from plants with foliar symptoms than those from plants with no symptoms. These results indicate that roguing plants with foliar symptoms in seed potato crops could achieve an improvement in crop health but might be impractical when diseased plants are too prevalent.     

Some effects of plant spacing on potato quality

Summary As plant population was increased so the dry matter content of the tubers increased, but delaying harvest had little such effect. Tubers of 2–3 cm (or 2.5–3.0 cm) had a lower dry matter content than tubers of 4.5–5.5 cm size at any one harvest. Increases in dry matter content were associated with increases in the disintegration of the tubers when cooked. The N content of the tubers was influenced by population, and although N content decreased and after-cooking blackening decreased with increasing plant population, after-cooking blackening was better related (inversely) to the K/N ratio of the tubers than to N content. Tubers from the later harvests had higher N, lower K and lower K/N ratio than those of a similar size at the earlier harvests. Published effects of fertilizer application on quality are related to similar effects obtained by varying the plant population.     

Growth and Tuberization of Hydroponically Grown Potatoes

Three hydroponic systems (aeroponics, aerohydroponics, and deep-water culture) were compared for the production of potato (Solanum tuberosum) seed tubers. Aerohydroponics was designed to improve the root zone environment of aeroponics by maintaining root contact with nutrient solution in the lower part of the beds, while intermittently spraying roots in the upper part. Root vitality, shoot fresh and dry weight, and total leaf area were significantly highest when cv. Superior, a medium early-maturing cultivar, was grown in the aeroponic system. This better plant growth in the aeroponic system was accompanied by rapid changes of solution pH and EC, and early tuberization. However, with cv. Atlantic, a mid-late maturing cultivar, there were no significant differences in shoot weight and leaf area among the hydroponic systems. The first tuberization was observed in aeroponics on 26–30 and 43–53 days after transplanting for cvs Superior and Atlantic, respectively. Tuberization in aerohydroponics and deep-water culture system occurred about 3–4 and 6–8 days later, respectively. The number of tubers produced was greatest in the deep-water culture system, but the total tuber weight per plant was the least in this system. For cv. Atlantic, the number of tubers <30 g weight was higher in aerohydroponics than in aeroponics, whereas there was no difference in the number of tubers >30 g between aerohydroponics and aeroponics. For cv. Superior, there was no difference in the size distribution of tubers between the two aeroponic systems. It could be concluded that deep-water culture system could be used to produce many small tubers (1–5 g) for plant propagation. However, the reduced number of large tubers above 5 g weight in the deep-water culture system, may favor use of either aeroponics or aerohydroponics. These two systems produced a similar number of tubers in each size group for the medium-early season cv. Superior, whereas aerohydroponics produced more tubers than aeroponics for the mid-late cultivar Atlantic.     

Effect of gibberellic acid and multiple harvests on production and reproductive value of seed potatoes produced above ground on stem cuttings

Summary Potato plants of cvs Eersteling and Bintje were grown from stem cuttings and induced to form aerial tubers for use as seed. Spraying the plants with gibberellic acid in concentrations of 10, 25 and 50 mg/l to induce stolon formation in the leaf axils led to a decrease in the number of tubers formed per plant. Multiple harvesting of the largest tubers from plants treated with gibberellic acid or not, approximately doubled the number of tubers formed but halved their individual weight compared with only one harvest at plant senescence. After a storage period of about 1 year, with their vigour declining, the aerial tubers were planted in the field. Aerial seed tubers taken from multiple harvests during the previous year produced the same number of tubers as plants grown from above-ground tubers harvested at plant senescence only, but the tuber yields declined with earlier harvesting when small (5–13 mm) aerial tubers were used, compared to larger (14–19 mm) tubers.     

Studies onFusarium wilt of potatoes. 2. Leaf,sprout and tuber infection in artificial inoculations

Summary In artificial inoculations it was found thatFusarium oxysporum f.sp.tuberosi is able to penetrate through potato leaves. The fungus was isolated from the stem of infected plants from all inoculated cultivars. Tubers were completely destroyed if they were inoculated before sprouting. Not any destruction was observed if inoculation was made before young sprouts are longer than 1–3 cm; plants from these sprouts were infected. Lesioned tubers were more sensitive than unlesioned ones, and tuber rot and sprout damage were increased significantly.     

Bacterial top rot: a new disease of the potato

Summary ‘Top rot’, a new bacterial disease of potato was found to occur in India. Water-soaked lesions developed on succulent stems, petioles and leaves. On stems and petioles the lesions enlarged into stripes turning black, which ultimately enveloped the affected portion and caused a soft rot, resulting in toppling of the stem/leaf. The affected tissues were covered with whitish bacterial exudates under high humidity but became dried and shrivelled under dry conditions. Leaflet infection occurred through infected petioles, via mid-rib and veins, or through the margins, resulting in rotting and blighting. The bacterium also caused soft rot of tubers. The disease was favoured by high humidity and a temperature range of 25–30°C. The causal bacterium was identified asErwinia carotovora var.carotovora.     

Demand for Processed Potato Products and Processing Quality Potato Tubers in India

Potato processing in India has shown a tremendous growth in the recent past, creating a proportionate increase in demand for processing quality potatoes. Reliable annual demand estimates of processing quality potato tubers in India were not available; hence, the current study was undertaken to provide such estimates. The study was based on a survey of 442 households in the state Maharashtra in India, which was regarded to be representative for India in the consumption of processed potato products. The annual expenditure on potato products during 2006–2007 in Maharashtra was estimated to be INR 5,254 million (€ 93.82 million), which was equivalent to 28,148 Mg of physical processed potato products and 83,333 Mg of processing quality potato tubers (0.38% of national potato production during 2006–2007, i.e. 22.09 million Mg). When the estimates were generalised to a national level, the requirement of processing-quality potato tubers in 2006–2007 was equal to 4.04% of national potato production. The forecasted annual demand of potato products in Maharashtra during 2011–2012 was 75,375 Mg and the corresponding demand of processing quality potato tubers was 230,760 Mg (0.75% of the estimated national potato production during 2011–2012, i.e. 30.89 million Mg). When generalised at national level, the demand of processing quality potato tubers during 2011–2012 was found to be 8% of the estimated national potato production.     

Bitterness and Toxicity in Wild Yam (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Dioscorea</Emphasis> spp.) Tubers of Nepal

Wild yams make a significant contribution to diets of tribal people in Nepal. However, these wild tubers are unpalatable, taste bitter, produce inflammation and show occasional toxicity. Four wild yam species, which are eaten after primary treatment by Nepali aborigines, were analyzed for bitter and toxic principles. Bitter components were identified as furanoid norditerpenes (diosbulbins A and B). Diosbulbins A and B were found in the range of 0.023–0.046 and 0.151–0.442 g kg⁻¹, respectively. Results demonstrated that diosbulbin B, with an average value of 0.314 g kg⁻¹, was the principal bitter compound as compared to diosbulbin A (0.037 g kg⁻¹). The toxic alkaloid, dioscorine and histamine (an allergen) were not detected in these tubers, whereas cyanogens (as HCN equivalent) content were found ranging from 3.2 to 6.0 ppm. Our results revealed that Nepali wild yam tubers are not toxic varieties, as they do not contain either toxic dioscorine or histamine and cyanogens contents were satisfactorily below the safety limits. The inflammation and occasional toxicity observed could possibly be due to the presence of high level of oxalate in these tubers. Domestic cooking methods were found to be very efficient in removing bitterness, thus making the bitter yams palatable.     

Post-harvest characteristics of potato minitubers with different fresh weights and from different harvests. I. Dry-matter concentration and dormancy

Summary Dry-matter concentration and dormancy were studied in minitubers of cvs Agria and Liseta, using five fresh weight classes (<0.50 g, 0.50–0.99 g, 1.00–1.99 g, 2.00–2.99 g and ≥3.00 g) and three successive harvests of the same plantlets. The average dry-matter concentration increased with tuber weight for tubers from the second and third harvests. In minitubers ≥0.5 g, dry-matter concentration was higher in tubers from later harvests. The dormant period (days from harvest to 50% sprouting) was longer in minitubers with lower than higher weights, and longer in tubers from the first harvest than from later harvests. A cold-storage period of 6 weeks, starting 14 days after harvest, reduced the dormant period by an average of 11 days.     

The infection of potatoes byPhytophthora infestans during simulated washing and its control using a hot water treatment

Summary A single blighted tuber released on average 1.39 mg ofP. infestans mycelia and sporangia during simulated washing. In subsequent experiments up to 100% of tubers were infected when healthy tubers were washed in a suspension ofP. infestans equivalent to a concentration of 1.65 μg ml⁻¹, i.e. that calculated to be in a commercial washing plant after washing a potato stock with approximately 1% of tubers infected with blight for 4 hours. Immature tubers were more prone to infection during washing than mature tubers. Damaging tubers, irrespective of their maturity, increased the incidence of tuber infection. The viability ofP. infestans isolates was significantly reduced byin vitro immersion in water at 44°C for 5 minutes. The infection of daughter tubers dipped in a suspension ofP. infestans for 3 minutes was prevented when the suspension temperature was 44°C. There was no indication of tuber damage at this temperature.     

Field performance of potato minitubers with different fresh weights and conventional seed tubers: Crop establishment and yield formation

Summary Field performance of five fresh weight classes of minitubers ranging from 0.13–0.25 g to 2.00–3.99 g and conventional seed tubers was studied in a short growing season (79 or 82 days) in two years. The heavier minitubers gave a more regular emergence, faster ground cover soon after emergence, higher dry-matter yields, and higher fresh tuber yields. Radiation conversion coefficient (RCC) did not differ. Higher tuber yields resulted from more radiation intercepted due to a faster ground cover, and a higher harvest index. All minitubers produced plants with one primary stem. In one experiment when heavier minitubers had long sprouts, time to 50% emergence decreased with tuber weight, whereas dry-matter concentration of progeny tubers increased. Conventional tubers appeared superior to minitubers in all characteristics mentioned except RCC, which was similar. Differences in performance between minitubers and conventional tubers were attributed to weight and age of seed tubers, presprouting method and crop husbandry.     

Characterizing Zebra Chip Symptom Severity and Identifying Spectral Signatures Associated with ‘<Emphasis Type="Italic">Candidatus</Emphasis> Liberibacter solanacearum’-Infected Potato Tubers

Zebra chip (ZC) disease has been a threat to the US potato industry for nearly two decades. ZC is associated with the bacteria ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ (Lso), which is transmitted by the potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (?ulc) (Hemiptera: Triozidae). ZC reduces yield and quality, due to discoloration of the tuber tissue. Symptom severity is affected by the time of infection and early-season infections express relatively higher degrees of ZC. Although tubers infected late in the growing season, i.e. within 2 weeks of harvest, express minimal to no symptoms, they may proceed to express ZC symptoms following storage. Currently, visualization of ZC symptoms in tubers is used by processors to estimate the percentage of ZC-affected tubers in truckloads of potatoes. This approach, however, is time consuming and relies on evaluations of a small sample size. Thus, it is likely to fail in detecting the asymptomatic late infections. Using several potato genotypes infected at different times during the growing season, this study was set to determine if visible and near infrared spectrometry, and infrared thermal imaging, can be used to distinguish ZC-affected tubers, and to predict the severity of ZC symptoms. The subjective symptom score categorization, commonly used in ZC studies, corresponded with the percentage of the symptomatic area in the tubers sliced at the solon attachment end. The percentage of symptomatic area was also correlated with Lso titer. Reflectance effectively distinguished infected and uninfected tubers with high accuracy; the combined wavelengths 468, 582, 680 and 720-nm were the most effective in predicting symptom severity. Near infrared (NIR) and infrared (IR) thermal imaging failed to distinguish tubers based on Lso infection status after storage. The quantitative measure of ZC severity, and the effectiveness of some visual wavelengths in detecting ZC may help to facilitate selection assays for ZC resistance. While in our study infrared imaging did not appear to be effective in distinguishing Lso- affected tubers after storage, additional studies with field harvested tubers are still needed to evaluate the effectiveness of VIS, NIR and IR spectrometry in screening for ZC.     

Effect of CIPC on Sprout Inhibition and Processing Quality of Potatoes Stored Under Traditional Storage Systems in India

Indigenous non-refrigerated methods like heaps and pits are used in India for short-term storage of potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) to avoid distress sale. Storing untreated potatoes generally results in high losses from sprouting, moisture loss and rotting. To reduce storage losses by inhibition of sprouting and to determine the suitability of stored potatoes for processing into crisps, a single spray application of a commercial formulation of 3-chlorophenyl carbamate (CIPC or chlorpropham) 50% a.i., (Oorja, United Phosphorus Limited, Mumbai, India) of CIPC (or chlorpropham) was tested on potatoes during storage from March to June under two traditional storage methods [heap (17–33 °C, 58–92% relative humidity (RH)) and pit (17–27 °C, 72–95% RH)] in 2 years [2005 up to 90 days of storage (DOS) and 2006 up to 105 DOS], using four cultivars and two rates of CIPC application (20 and 30 mg a.i. kg⁻¹ tubers). The two rates of application were comparably effective in reducing weight losses, sprouting and sprout growth in stored tubers, and the effect was more pronounced in pit storage than in heap storage. By contrast to untreated tubers, CIPC-treated potatoes remained turgid under the two storage methods and fetched market prices comparable to those for cold-stored (2–4 °C) potatoes after 105 days of storage. Reducing sugar concentrations in treated potatoes decreased during storage especially in 2006 when the initial reducing sugar concentration was higher than in 2005. Crisp colour improved only in 2005 after 90 DOS, but it deteriorated in 2006 during storage up to 105 DOS. Sucrose concentration increased tremendously during storage in 2 years. Only one cultivar (Kufri Chipsona-1) with low initial reducing sugar concentration and less sucrose accumulation during storage could produce acceptable colour crisps after storage in both years. The remaining three cultivars—with high initial reducing sugar concentration—were suitable for processing after storage in heap and pit in 2005, but not in 2006. Stored potatoes were safe for human consumption as the CIPC residue concentrations were far below the permissible level of 10 mg kg⁻¹ as prescribed by the European Union. Single spray application of CIPC (20 mg kg⁻¹ treatment) can effectively reduce storage losses in potatoes stored in traditional non-refrigerated methods of heap and pit and extend the storage life by 90 to 105 days.     

Impact of Stolbur Phytoplasmas on Potato Tuber Texture and Sugar Content of Selected Potato Cultivars

Potato stolbur is a phytoplasmal disease that seriously affects yield and tuber quality in South Eastern Europe, Russia and the Mediterranean areas. In 2007 and 2008, field experiments were carried out to determine stolbur resistance of processing potato cultivars at Sannicolau Mare (Romania) by determining consistency and concentration of reducing sugars (fructose and glucose), sucrose and phytoplasmas in potato tubers. In both years, non-symptomatic potato tubers showed sucrose levels in the range of 3,000 mg kg⁻¹ fresh weight (FW). In contrast, sucrose concentrations were up to 11,820 mg kg⁻¹ FW in 2007 and 19,560 mg kg⁻¹ FW in 2008 in tubers showing severe symptoms. These high values severely affect suitability of tubers for processing as sucrose serves as substrate for the formation of reducing sugars that are the limiting factor in fried potato production for Maillard-related discolouration. The cultivars examined differed considerably in susceptibility to stolbur disease. Whereas cvs. ‘Courage’ and ‘Lady Rosetta’ showed high numbers of diseased tubers and high sucrose concentrations, ‘Lady Claire’ had a lower incidence of symptomatic tubers and lower sucrose concentrations. However, fully resistant cultivars were not observed. Across all cultivars examined, phytoplasmal concentration was significantly higher in symptomatic tubers than in non-symptomatic ones.