Effect of temperature and latent viruses on atypical ring rot symptoms of Russet Burbank potatoes

The ring rot bacterium,Corynebacterium sepedonicum (Spieck. and Kotth.) Skapt. and Burkh. [Clavibacter michiganense subsp.sepedonicum (Spieck et Kotth.) Davis et al.], and latent potato viruses (potato virus S and potato virus X) were investigated for their effect on atypical (ATYP) ring rot symptom development on Russet Burbank potato plants at different temperatures. Plants grown at 21 C from stem cuttings root-inoculated withC. sepedonicum developed typical wilting and chlorotic symptoms of ring rot that were equally severe on virus-free (VF) and virus-infected (VI) plants. All VF and VI plants grown at 15 C from inoculated stem cuttings exhibited ATYP symptoms that included extreme stunting, resetting, and chlorotic symptoms of ring rot. More severe ATYP symptoms developed on VI than on VF plants. Up to 5 wk after inoculation withC. sepedonicum, ATYP symptom severity ratings of both VF and VI plants increased and declined thereafter. The ATYP severity ratings were highly correlated with fresh weight of plants with high severity ratings being associated with low fresh weights. These results emphasize the need to determine the role of temperature and viral pathogens on ring rot symptomology in existing and newly developed potato cultivars and thereby enable better field detection of bacterial ring rot.     

Effect of the ring rot pathogen and latent potato viruses on ring rot symptoms and yield of potatoes

The ring rot bacterium,Corynebacterium sepedonicum (Spieck. and Kotth.) Skapt. and Burkh., and latent potato viruses (potato virus S and potato virus X) were investigated for their effect on ring rot symptom development on potato plants in the greenhouse and on symptom development and yield of potatoes in the field. Both virus-free (VF) and virus-infected (VI) Red Pontiac stem cuttings root-inoculated with ring rot bacteria in the greenhouse developed typical (T) ring rot symptoms, and symptom severity did not differ between VF and VI plants. In a field study, both VF and VI Russet Burbank seed pieces knife-inoculated with ring rot bacteria produced plants with atypical (A) and T ring rot symptoms as well as a combination of both types. The data suggest that more A than T symptoms develop on VI plants and more T than A symptoms develop on VF plants. Combined infection with the ring rot pathogen and the latent potato viruses resulted in greater yield losses of total and marketable Russet Burbank tubers than infection with the bacterial or viral pathogens alone.     

Factors affecting ring rot development in root-inoculated potato plants originating from stem cuttings

Some of the factors that affected ring rot development in potato plants grown from stem cuttings and root-inoculated withCoryncbacterium sepedonicum were investigated. Isolates ofC. sepedonicum cultured and stored for a, year on agar media were as virulent as those that had been cultured for almost 5 months. Isolates cultured for periods over 2 years gradually lost their virulence; however, decline in virulence was not as rapid as had been previously reported. One isolate became more virulent by inoculating and recovering it from a susceptible potato plant. Ring rot symptoms developed more rapidly in the cultivar Red Pontiac than in the cultivar Netted Gem; however, disease severity eventually reached the same level in both cultivars. The more mature the plants were when inoculated, the greater was the rate of ring rot development. Duration of exposure of wounded roots to inoculum of the pathogen did not affect disease development. No ring rot bacteria were recovered from plants originating from apical cuttings of ring-rot-infected potato plants that exhibited partial wilting. By this technique, plants infected withC. sepedonicum were freed from this pathogen quickly and effectively.     

Effect of three anti-gibberellin growth retardants on tuberization of induced and non-induced Katahdin potato leaf-bud cuttings

Katahdin potato plants were grown in a growth chamber undernoninducing conditions and treated with three anti-gibberellin growth retardants. Other plants were sprayed with gibberellic acid and placed in aninducing growth chamber adjusted to promote tuber induction. Treatments were repeated the following week. After final treatment, apical, sub-apical, medial and basal leaf-bud cuttings were taken from each plant and placed in a mist chamber. After two weeks, cuttings were examined for tuberization. Two of the retardants were associated with approximately 3 and 2 fold increases in tuberization over the non-induced control. Although induced control cuttings exhibited almost complete tuberization, application of gibberellic acid to plants grown under identical conditions, reduced tuberization 14 fold. Tuberization response of induced control cuttings was unaffected by stem location. In non-induced control and quaternary ammonium compound-treated cuttings, basal cuttings tuberized significantly better than those taken from higher on the stem. This pattern was eliminated for plants treated with the triazole compound. Below-ground portions of donor plants were also examined and showed a significant increase in average rhizome number and total rhizome length associated with inducing conditions. Tuber number of donor plants was also increased for those plants grown under inducing conditions or treated with the triazole compound under noninducing conditions.     

Comparative effects of cut and treated seed tubers vs untreated whole seed tubers on seed decay, Rhizoctonia stem canker, growth, and yield of Russet Burbank Potatoes

Whole seed tubers have been reported to have performance advantages over seed tubers that have been cut, even if the cut tuber pieces are treated with a fungicide dust. For this study, whole seed tubers were compared to cut seedpieces and to cut seedpieces treated with four different commercial fungicide dusts for five consecutive seasons. A new field generation 3 Russet Burbank seed lot was used for each of the five years of this study. Both whole tubers and cut seedpieces were inoculated withFusarium spp., and the seedpieces were then treated with a fungicide dust. Inoculated and uninoculated untreated controls were also included. Emergence,Fusarium seed decay,Rhizoctonia stem canker, stem numbers, and vigor, as well as yield and grade data were obtained.Rhizoctonia stem canker in stems grown from whole seed tubers was significantly higher than in stems from seedpieces receiving fungicide treatment in several of the study years. Predicting whole seed tuber performance is difficult because performance varies more from year to year than performance of cut and treated seedpieces. Yield performance of whole seed tubers was not significantly better than cut and fungicide-treated seedpieces in any experimental year, and yield of large (over 280 g) tubers was significantly less than that recorded for two of the treatments when data from all five years were combined. This study demonstrated that untreated whole seed did not outperform cut and treated seedpieces for vigor, stem numbers, disease ratings, or yield in small plot comparisons for five consecutive seasons.     

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.     

Freeing Russet Burbank potato plants from ring rot by stem cutting and tuber propagation

Apical stem cuttings removed from potato plants (cv. Russet Burbank) infected withCorynebacterium sepedonicum and expressing mild symptoms of bacterial ring rot were demonstrated to be free from the pathogen. This material remained free of ring rot through two additional stem cutting generations and when grown in the field for four successive tuber generations.     

Potato Plants Grown from Minitubers are Delayed in Maturity and Lower in Yield,but are not at a Higher Risk of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Potato virus Y</Emphasis> Infection than Plants Grown from Conventional Seed

Potato virus Y (PVY) is the most important virus in North American seed potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production. Planting virus-free minitubers in place of field-grown seed, which usually has a low PVY incidence, reduces initial PVY inoculum in the field. However, plants grown from minitubers are smaller and emerge later than those grown from conventional seed, which could make them more likely to become infected with PVY. We tested the effects of seed type of three potato cultivars (Dark Red Norland, Goldrush, and Red La Soda) on PVY incidence, tuber yield, and flowering time. The incidence of PVY in plants grown from minitubers did not differ from that of plants grown from conventional seed. Minituber-grown plants produced lower tuber yields than plants grown from conventional seed. Plants from minitubers also emerged and flowered later, but this did not increase their incidence of PVY. Cultivar-specific differences were observed in tuber yield and flowering times, suggesting that this variation may influence PVY incidence more than seed type.     

Planting materials for warm tropic potato production: growth and yield of transplanted seedlings or rooted cuttings and tuber materials in the field

Expansion of potato production in lowland tropical regions has been constrained by the lack of planting materials, given that adapted genotypes and suitable field management practices now exist.

The respective performance of transplanted materials (i.e., true potato seed (TPS) seedlings or rooted stem cuttings) produced in situ in the warm tropics were compared with that of genetically identical seedling tubers (tubers produced from seedlings) or seed tubers. Seed and seedling tubers had been previously produced under optimal cool conditions. Transplanted materials achieved lower maximum leaf area index than did tuber materials (1.3–2.2 vs. 2.7) but relative growth rates of cuttings and seedlings were greater. This was in part due to the greater net assimilation rate of cuttings and to greater leaf:stem ratio for both compared with plants originating from tubers. Stolon and tuber formation were greater in seed tubers than in cuttings and in seedlings versus seedling tubers. On average, seedlings produced 14 tubers per plant, apical cuttings 12, seedling tubers 8, and stem cuttings 6.

Tuber yields within a genotype were statistically similar for crops from seed tubers or cuttings and for crops from seedling tubers or seedlings. However, the proportion of marketable (i.e., > 3.5 cm diameter) tubers was approximately 12% less in the crops from seed tuber and seedlings compared with those from cuttings and seedling tubers, respectively. Within a genotype, the crop duration in the field was similar whatever the type of planting material. Maximum yields, at 23 t/ha in warm sites, were still below those of temperate potato crops, but could be achieved equally well with transplanted in situ-produced materials or imported cool-climate seed tubers.     

Effect of seed tuber and seed piece size on growth and incidence of hollow heart in Norgold Russet potatoes

Small seed pieces decreased yield and number of tubers. Both seed tuber and seed piece size affected the percentage of tubers with hollow heart. Hollow heart increased from 14 to 22% as the seed tuber size increased from 57 to 228 g and decreased from 27 to 19% as the seed piece size increased from 28 to 57 g. The least hollow heart (11%) occurred in tubers of plants grown from 57 g whole seed pieces and the most (26%) in tubers of plants grown from 228 g seed tubers cut into 28 g seed pieces. Hollow heart was positively correlated with the mean tuber size and negatively correlated with the number of mainstems per hill, total yield, and total number of tubers.     

Growth and yield of potatoes as affected by severity of stem canker (Rhizoctonia solani)

Summary Different amounts ofRhizoctonia solani inoculum were applied to sprouted and non-sprouted seed tubers cultivar Désirée during planting in field experiments at Rothamsted in 1984 and 1985. Severity of stem canker and stolon infection increased with increasing amounts of inoculum; with small or medium amounts these infections were most severe on plants from sprouted seed. In 1985 plants grown from non-sprouted, seed had most stem canker when large amounts of inoculum were applied. Severe infection following high inoculum levels delayed shoot emergence, increased the variability in stem height and decreased the mean height of stems and weight of foliage but did not affect the number of stems per plant or final plant populations. Tuber initiation was delayed and tuber numbers slightly decreased by severe infection and at harvest the size distribution of tubers was altered. Tuber yields from severely infected plants were decreased by 15% (sprouted seed) and 19% (non-sprouted seed) in 1984 and by 17 and 28% respectively in 1985.     

Effect of total light energy on symptoms and growth of ring rot-infected Red Pontiac potato plants

The effect of total light energy levels on development of bacterial ring rot symptoms caused byCorynebacterium sepedonicum (Spieck. and Kotth.) Skapt. and Burkh., and growth (plant height) of cv. Red Pontiac was investigated by growing inoculated and uninoculated rooted stem cuttings under different pre-inoculation and post-inoculation total light energy levels. Infected plants grown under a 45 mW cm^?2 hr pre-inoculation total light energy level had a higher (P< 0.01) mean ring rot severity rating than plants grown under 103 mW cm^?2 hr. Disease severity increased as the postinoculation total light energy decreased. Plants inoculated withC. sepedonicum showed little growth under a post-inoculation total light energy of 45 mW cm^?2 hr, however, under 103 mW cm^?2 hr; significantly greater growth occurred. Uninoculated plants grew more rapidly than infected plants under all pre-and post-inoculation total light energy level combinations, except those grown at pre-inoculation levels of 45 mW cm^?2 hr.     

Growth of early potatoes from different portions of seed tubers II. Yield

Several of the recently released early-potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars used in Ontario have produced uneven stands which have been shown to be a result of delayed emergence from basal end seed pieces. A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of seed portions on the yield of three early potato cultivars, Jemseg, Superior and Yukon Gold. Yield of plants from basal seed pieces was lower than that from apical seed pieces or whole tubers for Jemseg and Yukon Gold during several sequential harvests. With Superior, cut seed portions yielded less than whole seed. Number of stems per plant was lower for basal plants of Jemseg. Tubers with strong apical dominance or dormancy such as Jemseg and Yukon Gold are prone to differences in yield among seed portions.     

Techniques for using sprouts for potato production in the tropics

A series of experiments were conducted in Vietnam to develop a system whereby detached sprouts from physiologically old green sprouted seed tubers could be used to grow potatoes. Three node segments from the mid or basal portion of the detached sprout produced the greatest percentage of shoots and roots. Growth was best in a medium of equal parts of sub-soil, pig manure and brick kiln ash. Sprout cuttings produced plantlets ready for transplanting in 14–20 days with mean daily temperatures of 22 to 24°C. When transplanted in mid-November, yields from sprout cuttings in field experiments were 10 to 18 t/ha which were 33% lower than from healthy seed tubers but more than the national average yield using degenerated seed tubers. Tubers produced by plants grown from sprout stored well and gave good yields when replanted the following year. Requests for reprints to International Potato Center, Box 933, Manila, Philippines.     

A promising method for screening drought tolerance in potato using apical cuttings

Ten diverse potato genotypes from apical cuttings were screened for drought tolerance in raised beds of 3:1 v/v volcanic soil:burnt rice hull medium. The object was to test whether this method could replace field evaluation. Growth analyses were done periodically on potatoes from apical cuttings grown in beds. Correlations were made with those from seed tubers concurrently grown in the field. Total and tuber dry matter yield of plants grown from apical cuttings in beds and from seed tubers in the field were significantly correlated (r=.80*). Drought stress sensitivity based on % reduction in tuber and total dry matter at maturity in beds was similar to the results found in the field at maturity. Consistency of the method necessitates the standardization of the age, quality and source of apical cuttings and the growing conditions particularly drought stress imposition.     

Disease eradication and propagation of the initial seed potato material in Estonia

Summary The EVIKA Research Centre has developed a disease eradication system for the initial material of seed potato, which consists of 1. Selection of the initial material for eradication, plant thermotherapy, meristem tip cultivation and testing for viruses; 2. Re-eradication (thermotherapy of test-tube plants, cultivation of meristem tips, testing for viruses, testing of varietal quality and yield of disease-free meristem clones, and the selection of meristem clones with best varietal characteristics; 3. Renewing of the initial material (all processes as above, but the initial material is selected from the seed potatoes grown for at least 3 years in the field). Field trials were conducted after the second cycle of eradiaction to determine whether the plantlets were true-to-type and to assess the yield, disease resistance and tuber dry matter. Recently we have also started in vitro testing of meristem plants resistance to late blight, hoping that this approach will improve the selection efficiency. Propagation and growing of the seed tubers consists of 3 main steps: 1. Plantlet propagation in vitro; 2. Greenhouse propagation in plastic rolls; and 3. Planting the first generation tubers in the field. Under our conditions it is the cheapest, simplest and most effective way. Multiplication of the meristem-derived plants is done by shoot tip cuttings in a greenhouse in plastic rolls with peat as the growing medium. The first generation of seed tubers is grown in the field. In our trials plant productivity was affected by the method of multiplication, growing conditions and genotype. The highest yield per hectare was obtained with plants multiplied in plastic rolls. The in vitro plants had more tubers per plant than plants multiplied in plastic rolls. In seed production fields the productivity of plants was more influenced by following our instructions than by multiplication and growing methods. The number of tubers per plant obtained with over 0.5 million plants was 6.5–9.0. In the second generation of seed tubers, grown under equal density, the greater-sized tubers gave more tubers with lower weight than the smaller-sized tubers. Cutting tubers had no effect on the plant development and tuberization.     

Influence of chemical seed and soil treatments onVerticillium-induced yield reduction and tuber defects

Experiments were conducted in 1969 and 1970 to determine the influence of chemical treatments of seed pieces and soil on the development ofVerticillium wilt as measured by tuber yield increases and reduction in severity of tuber defects. The influence of storage onVerticillium-induced tuber defects was evaluated. Seed treatment chemicals tested included zinc ion maneb, maneb, maneb-chloroneb, Polyram, benomyl, and thiabendazole. Soil treatment chemicals included O-Diethyl (O-methyl-sulfinyl) phenyl phosphoro-thioate, disulfoton, phorate, carbofuran, aldicarb, ethyl 4 (methyl- thio)-m-tolyl isopropyl phosphor amidate, benomyl, and thiabendazole. Inoculated seed pieces and artificially infested plot areas were used the first year while the second year natural inoculum from a previous crop was the source of infection. Kennebec and Katahdin cultivars were tested in 1969 and Kennebec alone in 1970. Verticillium-induced yield reductions and tuber defects were more severe in all respects with Kennebec than with Katahdin. With Katahdin the only significant evidence of infection was stem end discoloration. Seed treatments, with the exception of benomyl or thiabendazole, which were erratically phytotoxic, resulted in consistent yield increases and reduction in pink eye severity. In 1969 seed treatment reduced stem end browning in Kennebec. Soil treatment with disulfoton, carbofuran, and aldicarb, both alone and in combination with seed treatments resulted in consistent yield increases with Kennebec. The seed piece and soil treatment combinations tested in 1970 appeared to have an additive effect on yield increase from combination treatments equivalent to the gain from soil treatment alone plus seed treatment alone. The nematicide soil treatment materials did not influence yield. Tuber stem-end browning and pink eye defects in Kennebec did not increase in severity over a five month storage period.     

Soil water stress and the growth and yield of potato plants grown from microtubers and conventional seed tubers

Tuber yields of potato plants grown from microtubers in fields are more variable than yields from conventional seed tubers (CT). One reason could be their higher susceptibility to water stress. This study clarified the effect of soil water stress from 1 month after emergence on the growth and yield of plants grown from conventional seed tubers and microtubers in fields. Microtubers (0.5–3 g) and conventional seed tubers (50 g) were grown in Hokkaido, Japan, over three field seasons. One month after emergence, poly-shelters were placed over the plots to prevent rainfall, and either irrigated (wet plot) or non-irrigated (dry plot) treatments were formed. At mid-flowering (about 50 days after emergence) leaf area index (LAI) in microtuber plants was decreased relatively more due to soil water stress than LAI in conventional seed tuber plants. However, at maximum shoot growth (about 80 days after emergence) both microtuber and conventional seed tuber plants had a similar relative decrease in LAI due to soil water stress. At mid-flowering and maximum shoot growth microtuber and conventional seed tuber plants had reduced stomatal conductance due to soil water stress, but the reduction in stomatal conductance was greater in conventional seed tuber plants than in microtuber plants. Microtuber and conventional seed tuber plants had similar root development at maximum shoot growth. Tuber production from mid-flowering until plant maturity was similarly affected by soil water stress in microtuber and conventional seed tuber plants. At harvest, plants affected by soil water stress had about 87% of the tuber dry weight of irrigated plants. We conclude, that the greater variation on tuber yield of microtuber plants cannot be attributed to soil water stress from 1 month after emergence.     

Contamination withErwinia Carotovora andVerticillium Albo-Atrum during multiplication of pathogen-tested seed potato crops,cultivar Kennebec

Contamination withErwinia carotovora andVerticillium alboatrum (dark mycelial form) occurred rapidly in certain seasons and districts in cv. Kennebec seed potato crops which were derived from pathogen-tested stem cuttings and propagated with attention to practical procedures of crop hygiene. Only varietycarotovora ofE. carotovora was found.     

Free-Living Plant-Parasitic Nematodes do not Affect the Efficiency of Seed Tuber Fungicide Treatment against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizoctonia solani</Emphasis>

Stem canker on germinating potato sprouts is often caused by seed-borne inoculum of the fungus Rhizoctonia solani. However, high amounts of free-living plant-parasitic nematodes have been found in field patches of potato plants with stem canker. Fungicide treatment of the seed tubers can be used to avoid stem canker caused by seed-borne inoculum but it is unknown if nematodes can affect this. To investigate whether free-living plant-parasitic nematodes, the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus penetrans or a combination of several plant-parasitic nematode genera in a full nematode community, may have a negative effect on the fungicide seed treatment, a pot experiment with seed tubers inoculated with R. solani, half of which were treated with fungicides, was performed. The seed-borne inoculum caused severe damage to the plants, while no fungal damages were observed on the fungicide treated plants. This shows that the nematodes did not affect the fungicide treatment. The probability of black scurf decreased in treatments with a full nematode community, which may be due to the action of fungal-feeding nematodes.