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.     

Effects of Mulch and Potato Hilling on Development of Foliar Blight (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phytophthora infestans</Emphasis>) and the Control of Tuber Blight Infection

Foliar and tuber blight caused by Phytophthora infestans accounts for significant losses in potatoes in field and storage. Nevertheless, limited research has been published on the effects of cultural practices on late blight control. Field experiments were conducted in two years on Howard gravely loam soil in New York State to evaluate the effectiveness of mulching using oat straw and hilling in preventing tuber blight infection for cvs Allegany and Katahdin. Potato hilling and mulching had little effect on foliar blight development. The cultivar affected the disease development in the foliage, with cv. Allegany showing lower foliar late blight than cv. Katahdin. Tuber blight incidence averaged 25% for cv. Allegany and 3% for cv. Katahdin in hilled plots, while in the mulched plots the incidence of tuber blight averaged 33% for cv. Allegany and 10% for cv. Katahdin. The straw hay mulch was ineffective in tuber blight control. Tubers set at a soil depth of more than 7 cm had lower tuber blight incidence than shallow tubers set at a depth of less than 7 cm. In both years, hilling provided partial protection of tubers but its effectiveness was limited in the presence of favourable conditions for late blight development. Even though large hills had proportionally a lower tuber blight incidence than medium-sized hills, the difference between the different hill sizes was not significant. These studies suggest that the use of cultivars with foliage resistance to late blight in combination with cultural practices may partially reduce the incidence of tuber blight. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation for endorsement by Cornell University or the US Department of Agriculture.     

Potassium phosphite combined with reduced doses of fungicides provides efficient protection against potato late blight in large-scale field trials

Potato late blight caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans is a devastating disease of potato worldwide. Most of the potato cultivars grown in conventional agriculture are susceptible, or at best moderately resistant, and require frequent applications of fungicides to avoid heavy yield losses.In field trials spanning four years, we have investigated the effect of potassium phosphite, an inorganic salt on potato late blight. Potassium phosphite is known to induce defence responses in potato and to also have direct toxic effects on oomycetes, which in turn counteract late blight and tuber blight development. However, the use of this salt is not yet implemented and approved in European potato cultivation. We compared the effect of phosphite alone with fungicides currently used in Swedish potato cultivation. We also investigated the combined use of potassium phosphite and reduced doses of fungicides. Table potato cultivars and starch potato cultivars with different levels of resistance were used.We found that potassium phosphite in combination with reduced doses of fungicides results in the same level of protection as treatments with the recommended full dose of fungicides. These combined treatments reduce the need of traditional fungicides and may also decrease the selection pressure for fungicide resistance development in the pathogen. In relatively resistant starch potato cultivars using phosphite alone gave sufficient protection against late blight. Furthermore, in starch potato a combination of phosphite and fungicides at two-week intervals provided similar protection to weekly applications of fungicide at the recommended dose. Foliar treatment with phosphite also gave protection against tuber blight at similar levels to that of the best-performing fungicide. Our data suggests that potassium phosphite could be used in potato cultivation in temperate regions such as in Sweden, at least in combinations with reduced rates of fungicides. The implementation of the use of phosphite in practical potato crop protection as part of an IPM strategy is discussed. Doses, intervals and combinations could be adjusted to the level of cultivar resistance.     

Fungicidal control ofPhytophthora erythroseptica: The cause of pink rot on potato

Two shade house and six field experiments were undertaken to evaluate fungicides and timing of application for the control of pink rot of potatoes caused byPhytophthora erythroseptica. Pink rot developed in up to 60% of tubers grown in artificially inoculated soil and 21% of the tubers in naturally infected soil. Ridomil (metalaxyl) and Ridomil Gold (mefenoxan) granules applied to the soil at planting completely or nearly completely controlled pink rot throughout the season in both pot and field experiments. Foliar applications of Ridomil Gold MZ (mefenoxan plus mancozeb) applied when tubers were around 20 mm diameter and another one or two sprays 12 to 28 days later also provided more than 80% control of pink rot in most experiments. Foliar applications of Shirlan (fluazanim) or Acrobat MZ (dimethomorph plus mancozeb) showed some activity against pink rot, but were significantly less effective than Ridomil Gold MZ. Foli-R-Fos 200 (phosphonic acid) or Dithane M45 (mancozeb) applied to the canopy showed little activity against pink rot in most experiments. Yield increases of between 6 and 17 tons ha^?1 resulted from the application of either Ridomil granules at planting or two to three Ridomil Gold MZ foliar sprays around “tuber set.”     

Use of Chaetomium globosum for biocontrol of potato late blight disease

The efficacy of Chaetomium globosum as a biocontrol agent against the late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans was evaluated in potato plants. Among eight Chaetomium isolates evaluated C. globosum isolate Cg-6 showed greater inhibition to mycelial growth of P. infestans in vitro. TLC studies showed that isolate Cg-6 produced an antibiotic called ‘Chaetomin’. Isolate Cg-6 showed greater exo- and endo-glucanase enzyme activity when compared to other isolates. PCR amplification of the ITS region and sequencing of the PCR product confirmed that isolate Cg-6 belongs to the C. globosum group. C. globosum Cg-6 was formulated as a liquid and applied as a tuber, soil and foliar treatment either individually or in combination against Phytophthora infection in potato plants. Among different treatments, combined application of C. globosum as a tuber treatment @ 1 ml/kg of tubers, as a soil application @ 1 ml/kg of Farm Yard Manure (FYM) and foliar spray @ 0.7% resulted in significantly less late blight infection (72%) compared to untreated control (100%) under field conditions. The application of C. globosum resulted in greater tuber yield by reducing late blight infection in two field trials when compared to untreated controls. The study clearly demonstrated the potential use of C. globosum as a biocontrol agent in the management of late blight disease in potato plants.     

Evaluation of systemic acquired resistance inducers for control of downy mildew on basil

Basil downy mildew, caused by Peronospora belbahrii Thines sp. nov., is a devastating foliar disease of fresh-cut basil first discovered in the U.S. in South Florida in 2007. Since then the pathogen has been found in over 20 U.S. states and has become a major threat to sweet basil production. In this study, acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM, Actigard 50WG), DL-3-aminobutyric acid (BABA), isonicotinic acid (INA), salicylic acid (SA) and sodium salicylate (SS) were evaluated for their potential to control basil downy mildew in the greenhouse. Efficacy of these systemic acquired resistance (SAR) inducers varied in control of basil downy mildew depending on the rate, method and timing of application. Foliar sprays of ASM applied pre-, post- or pre- + post-inoculation at rates ranging from 25 to 400 mg l⁻¹ significantly (P = 0.05) reduced disease severity compared to the non-treated control in all experiments. ASM sprayed at 50 mg l⁻¹ three times on a weekly basis starting 3 and 7 days post- inoculation resulted in a 93.8 and 47.1% reduction in disease severity, respectively. Six weekly foliar sprays of BABA as pre- + post-inoculation at rates equal or higher than 125 mg l⁻¹ significantly suppressed downy mildew compared to the non-treated control. Foliar treatments of ASM or BABA followed by one or two post-inoculation sprays of a mixture of potassium phosphite (Prophyt) and azoxystrobin (Quadris) significantly improved efficacy for disease control. Sporangia counted on ASM treated leaves were significantly lower than leaves sampled from the non-treated control. ASM and BABA at concentrations lower than 1.0 mM did not inhibit sporangial germination in vitro. The effect of INA, SA and SS on disease reduction was generally inconsistent and not significant compared to the non-treated control.     

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.     

Effects of in-season crop-protection combined with postharvest applied fungicide on suppression of potato storage diseases caused by oomycete pathogens

The effects of fungicides and biofungicides applied during the growing season in combination with storage applications to control potato storage diseases caused by oomycete pathogens were evaluated. The in-season treatments included in-furrow and foliar application of mefenoxam or phosphorous acid and foliar application of Bacillus subtilis. Storage treatments included phosphorous acid, B. subtilis and a 3-way mixture of azoxystrobin, fludioxonil and difenoconazole. These products were tested for control of tuber late blight, Pythium leak and pink rot at 10 °C (cv. FL1879) or 4 °C (cv. Goldrush). The combination of phosphorous acid in the field and during storage significantly reduced tuber blight development. Field treatment with B. subtilis, mefenoxam or phosphorous acid combined with the storage treatment of phosphorous acid significantly reduced Pythium leak development. Interaction of field treatments, mefenoxam or phosphorous acid, with storage treatments, phosphorous acid or the 3-way mixture of azoxystrobin, fludioxonil and difenoconazole significantly reduced pink rot incidence.     

Susceptibility of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) foliage and tubers to the US8 genotype ofPhytophthora infestans

Late blight is an important disease of potato(Solanum tuberosum L.) worldwide, and therefore, many potato-breeding programs have prioritized the development of late blight-resistant potato cultivars. Although the emphasis has been to enhance foliar resistance, it is also necessary to evaluate tuber late blight resistance in new breeding lines and new sources of late blight resistance. We report here on the assessment of foliar and tuber resistance and the correlation between these aspects of resistance in a sample of Michigan State University potato breeding lines. Two MSU breeding lines had significantly less infected foliage than the susceptible check cultivars. Tuber susceptibility was significantly different (P < 0.05) only between the most susceptible and the least susceptible breeding lines/cultivars. Foliar and tuber susceptibility to potato late blight were not correlated as low tuber susceptibility was associated both with extremely low (e.g., MSG274-3) and high (e.g., MSE202-3Rus) foliar susceptibility.     

Two Cycles of Recurrent Maternal Half-Sib Selection Reduce Foliar Late Blight in a Diploid Hybrid Solanum phureja-S. stenotomum Population by Two-thirds

Foliar late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, is an important disease problem worldwide. Foliar resistance to late blight was found in a hybrid population of the cultivated diploid species Solanum phureja-S. stenotomum (phu-stn). The objective of this study was to determine if resistance to late blight could be improved by recurrent maternal half-sib selection in the phu-stn population. Four clones from each of 72 maternal half-sib families plus the check cultivar ‘Atlantic’ were evaluated for late blight resistance in replicated field trials in Pennsylvania. The most late blight resistant clone from each of the 72 families was randomly intermated to advance the population. The cycle 1, 2, and 3 populations were evaluated in 1996–1997, 2003–2004, and 2009–2010, respectively. Percent infected foliage was recorded several times towards the end of the growing season and used to compute area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC). Mean AUDPC was 652 (cycle 1), 556 (cycle 2), and 276 (cycle 3), whereas the mean AUDPC of ‘Atlantic’ ranged from 775 to 863 each cycle. Narrow-sense heritability for resistance was estimated as 0.78, 0.77, and 0.80 in cycles 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Recurrent maternal half-sib selection continues to improve the levels of resistance to late blight in this diploid population with no adverse effect on the amount of additive genetic variance. Additional improvements for late blight resistance are likely to occur if this approach is continued.     

Integration of soil applied neonicotinoid insecticides and acibenzolar-S-methyl for systemic acquired resistance (SAR) control of citrus canker on young citrus trees

Soil application of systemic neonicotinoid insecticides for control of psyllid vectors of Huanglongbing disease on young citrus trees also produces season-long SAR control of citrus canker caused by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri Schaad et al. The neonicotinoids imidacloprid (IMID) and thiamethoxam (THIA) were compared with soil or sprinkler applications of the commercial SAR inducer acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) and foliar sprays of copper hydroxide (CH) and/or streptomycin (STREP) to evaluate their effects on the percentage of canker-infected leaves on 2-yr-old ‘Vernia’ orange and 3-yr-old ‘Ray Ruby’ grapefruit trees in Southeast Florida. All treatments significantly reduced the incidence of foliar canker compared to the untreated check. Soil drenches of ASM and season long rotations with IMID and THIA were highly effective for suppressing foliar canker on young grapefruit and orange trees under weather conditions absent of high intensity rains or tropical storms. Sprinkler application of ASM was less effective than soil drench. The level of control for SAR treatments was comparable to eleven 21-day interval sprays of CH and/or STREP. SAR induced by soil-applied insecticides provides substantial benefits for canker disease management on young citrus trees that may be augmented with ASM.     

Changes in the distribution of phenylamide-resistant strains ofPhytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary in Ireland 1985–89

Summary Phenylamide-based fungicides were reintroduced to the Irish market in 1985. Mixtures of phenylamides and mancozeb were recommended for no more than 3 sprays in potato late blight control programmes with the last systemic spray to be applied not later than 31 July. Samples of potato foliage infected withP. infestans were collected from the main potato growing areas in Ireland over a five-year period starting in 1985. Using the floating disc method, 11% of the crops sampled in 1985 were found to have phenylamide-resistant strains ofP. infestans present. The number of crops with resistant strains increased rapidly up to 1988 when 83% of the crops sampled had resistance. Factors affecting the distribution of resistance and the efficacy of a phenylamide-based spray programme are discussed.     

Relationship between resistance to late blight in potato foliage and tubers of cultivars and breeding selections with different resistance levels

Due to changes in the pathogen population, late blight of potatoes caused byPhytophthora infestans has become a more difficult disease to manage and there is a need for new potato cultivars with greater and more stable disease resistance. Field studies are required to identify and characterize host resistance to late blight in both foliage and tubers but, as epidemics vary from year to year, combining multi-year results can be difficult. Residual maximum likelihood (REML) was successfully used to analyze data which demonstrated good correlations between foliar and tuber responses to late blight (US-1 genotype). In addition, studies on post-harvest inoculated tubers provided more reliable disease responses than field studies, and the disease resistance with this method correlated well with foliar disease responses. This tuber test would be a useful method of pre-screening selections for disease response prior to testing in the field.     

Evaluation of soil applied systemic acquired resistance inducers integrated with copper bactericide sprays for control of citrus canker on bearing grapefruit trees

Soil application of systemic neonicotinoid insecticides and the commercial systemic acquired resistance (SAR) inducer, acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM), provides season-long control of foliar infection by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri, the causal agent of citrus canker. Reduction in leaf disease incidence with ASM is comparable to protection with 21-day interval foliar sprays of copper hydroxide (CH). Soil applications of ASM alone, rotated with the neonicotinoids imidacloprid (IMID), thiamethoxam (THIA), and clothianidin (CLOTH), or combined with foliar sprays of CH were compared for canker disease control on fruit of 5- to 7-year-old bearing ‘Ruby Red’ grapefruit trees in Southeast Florida. All treatments significantly reduced the incidence of canker lesions on fruit compared to the untreated check. Soil drenches of ASM and season-long rotations with IMID, THIA, and CLOTH were as effective for suppressing fruit canker as season-long foliar sprays with CH. SAR inducers combined with CH sprays provided optimum control of fruit canker when initiated before the onset of the susceptible foliar flush in the spring. Additional control of canker with soil-applied SAR inducers may enable reduction in the frequency of copper sprays and reduce disease loss from copper resistant Xcc strains where they are prevalent.     

Elba: A late maturing,blight resistant potato variety

Elba is a high yielding cultivar which combines resistance to the golden nematode, foliar infection byPhytophthora infestans andAlternaria solani, andVerticillium wilt. Elba is a late maturing tablestock cultivar especially well adapted to organic soils. In small plots and on farmers’ fields it has demonstrated its worth in reducing the need for foliar fungicides to prevent blight.     

Occurrence of the A2 mating type ofPhytophthora infestans in potato fields in the United States and Canada

Ten isolates ofP. infestans collected from blighted potato fields in the U.S. and Canada during the years 1983–1989 were examined for mating type on lima bean, oatmeal, and rye grain media. Two of the ten isolates produced oospores in less than 15 days when cultured in the presence of known A¹ mating types from the USA, Mexico, and Europe, indicating they are A² mating types. When the two A² isolates (one from Pennsylvania and one from Vancouver, B.C.) were cultured singly or with known A² isolates, no oospores formed after 6 weeks of culture. Pathogenicity tests showed that both isolates produced typical late blight symptoms on potato foliage and stems, and there appeared to be no difference in virulence between these two A² and the eight A¹ isolates. Inoculations with a mixture of A¹ + A² sporangia also produced oospores in host tissues. This is the first report of the presence of the A² mating type ofP. infestans in the U.S. and Canada.     

Validation of tuber blight (Phytophthora infestans) prediction model

Potato tuber blight caused by Phytophthora infestans accounts for significant losses of tubers in storage. Despite research on infection and management of tuber blight, there is paucity of information on the prediction of the occurrence tuber blight or modelling of tuber infection by P. infestans under field conditions. A tuber blight prediction model was developed in New York in experiments conducted using cultivars Allegany, NY101, and Katahdin in 1998 and 1999. This model was validated using data collected from the potato cultivar Snowden in field experiments in Laingsburg, Michigan from 2000 to 2009. In both New York and Michigan experiments, disease was initiated by artificial inoculation of cultivars with a US-8 isolate of P. infestans. Mean leaf area affected ranged from 0 to 94% at New York, and 0 to 93% at Michigan. At New York and Michigan, mean tuber blight incidences ranged from 1 to 40% and 0 to 15%, respectively. In the validation of the model using data collected at Laingsburg, Michigan, the model correctly predicted tuber blight incidence in 7 out of 9 years. Comparison of observed with predicted values indicated that slopes of the regression line between observed and predicted germination and infection data were not significantly different (P > 0.3547). Correlation coefficient between observed and predicted values was high (r² > 0.65) and the coefficient of variation of the residuals of error was about 12%. Although inoculum availability is assumed in the model, incorporation of relationships of inoculum density, propagule survival in soil, and tuber blight incidence would greatly improve the prediction of tuber blight under field conditions.     

Control of chickpea blight disease caused by Didymella rabiei by mixing resistance inducer and contact fungicide

Elicitors of systemic acquired resistance are well known to reduce severity of several plant pathogenic diseases caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses. Their field applications for management of plant diseases are, however, limited because of yield penalties. Our studies on affect of Benzo (1,2,3)-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester (BTH), an elicitor of systemic acquired resistance, on chickpea blight caused by a fungal pathogen Didymella rabiei showed that multiple foliar applications of the chemical were effective in management of the disease under economic threshold levels. Multiple applications, however, affected chickpea grain yield adversely. The BTH induced yield penalties could be prevented by foliar spray schedule comprised of BTH and a contact fungicide mancozeb. One spray of BTH (50 ppm) followed by another of mancozeb (0.2%) was less effective (8.3% severity) than three sprays of BTH (4.2% severity) in blight control, however, this treatment enhanced grain yield significantly (1.241 t ha⁻¹) over three sprays of BTH (0.922 t ha⁻¹).     

A method for estimating the decrease in marketable tubers caused by potato late blight

A regression analysis was used to develop a method to estimate the decrease in marketable tubers caused by late blight of potato (Phytophthora infestans), based on estimates of percentage loss in total tuber yield computed from a published method. The economic loss due to late blight in table stocks is the relative percentage marketable yield loss, calculated from the expression: {fx19-01} when total yield losses (in percentage) did not exceed 40%. A graphical method is presented as an alternative. Yield results from seven field experiments conducted in the Maritime Provinces of Canada during the period 1953 to 1971 were used in the study, where marketable tubers were defined as 2 1/4 inch or more in diameter.