Variation in pathogenicity on potato tubers and sensitivity to thiabendazole of the dry rot fungusFusarium avenaceum

Summary The majority of isolates ofFusarium avenaceum caused dry rot on potato tubers; many were as pathogenic asF. coeruleum. Pathogenicity ofF. avenaceum was not related to the plant species from which the isolates originated. Tubers of potato cv. Cara were more susceptible than those of cvs Romano or Maris Piper. Temperature (5–15° C) had no effect on lesion depth but lesions tended to be slightly wider at the lowest temperature. Two isolates (of 61) from wheat and white lupin had a moderate level of resistance to thiabendazole. The results are discussed in relation to the control of dry rot in stored potato tubers.     

Correlation between fusaric acid production and virulence of isolates ofFusarium oxysporum that causes potato dry rot in South Africa

Summary Virulence of 12Fusarium oxysporum isolates was determined on three potato cultivars Late Harvest, BP1 and Kimberley Choice. The production of fusaric acid by the 12F. oxysporum isolates was also determined. The aim of the study was to determine whether a correlation exists between fusaric acid production and virulence ofF. oxysporum isolates. Late Harvest was the most tolerant and BP1 the most susceptible cultivar. Virulence ranking, order of theF. oxysporum isolates with the different cultivars corresponded with the mean of value of the ranking order for all three cultivars. A correlation was found between virulence of isolates and fusaric acid production except for Late Harvest. Fusaric acid production may play a major role in the development of dry rot in potato tubers.     

Susceptibility assessment of potato cultivars toFusarium dry rot species

Summary The susceptibility of 43 commercially available potato cultivars to dry rot caused byF. sulphureum, F. solani andF. oxysporum under similar conditions was examined over two years. The cultivars reacted with differing levels of resistance to the dry rot species.F. sulphureum was more aggressive than the other two species and the resistance to each species was independent. The overall cluster analysis classified the cultivars into six groups. Saturna, in an individual group, is the most resistant variety to all tested species, and also toF. surphureum. Panda, Fregate, Folva, Arian and a few others in a group are resistant toF. solani. AlthoughF. oxysporum was the least pathogenetic, almost half of the cultivars are included in a resistant group to this species. There was little correlation between the rank orders of susceptibility of the cultivars to the two main pathogens.     

Differential resistance to tuber late blight in potato cultivars without R-genes

Summary In 1983 and 1984 there were reports in Norway of more severe late blight infection than usual on tubers of cv. Pimpernel, a cultivar without R-genes known to be somewhat resistant to both haulm and tuber infection. Results from routine tests confirmed earlier experience that cv. Pimpernel shows stable resistance to tuber late blight, although the ranking of cultivars may vary between years. In experiments during three harvest seasons tubers of different cultivars were inoculated with isolates ofP. infestans obtained from stocks of cv. Pimpernel with severe tuber late blight and with other isolates. In these experiments the isolates from cv. Pimpernel caused more rot on tubers of Pimpernel than did other isolates.     

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.     

吉林省玉米根腐镰孢菌种类鉴定和防治药剂筛选

通过形态学和分子生物学方法对2016年采自吉林省36个村镇的玉米根腐病样品进行镰孢菌分离和鉴定,并通过田间试验筛选有效药剂。结果发现,共分离获得84株镰孢菌,主要包括尖孢镰孢、禾谷镰孢、拟轮枝镰孢、层出镰孢、三线镰孢等11种镰孢菌,其中尖孢镰孢平均分离频率最高,为45.2%;其次是禾谷镰孢,平均分离频率为20.2%。从分布区域看,尖孢镰孢是白城、吉林、辽源和通化地区玉米根腐病的主要致病菌,分离频率分别为75%、54.5%、85.7%和45.5%;禾谷镰孢是松原和四平地区玉米根腐病的主要致病菌,分离频率分别为41.7%和41.7%。田间试验表明,5种药剂的防治效果为16.35%～81.26%,药种比为10 g/kg的10%咯菌腈悬浮种衣剂对玉米根腐病防治效果最好,防效达81.26%。吉林省玉米根腐病的主要病原菌为尖孢镰孢,药种比为10 g/kg的10%咯菌腈悬浮种衣剂可用于玉米根腐病的田间防治。     

Inheritance of resistance toFusarium sulphureum in crosses betweenS. tuberosum potato cultivars measured on field and glasshouse grown tubers

Summary Solanum tuberosum potato cultivars with differing levels of resistance to dry rot caused byFusarium sulphureum were hybridised in a half diallel crossing programme. Glasshouse grown tubers from true seedlings and field-grown tubers of the resulting progenies were assessed for their resistance toF. sulphureum. Statistical analysis revealed differences between the progenies forF. sulphureum resistance on both field and glasshouse grown tubers. On the field grown tubers, differences between progenies were due to differences in the general combining ability (GCA) of the parents. Parental phenotypes and GCA values were highly correlated. Overall. GCA was consistent for resistance or susceptibility, and glasshouse grown progenies showed a good correlation for GCA between years (r=0.85^***), and with the results of the field grown progenies (r=0.61^* in 1998 and r=0.69^** in 1999). It appears that resistance toF. sulphureum is heritable, and that this heritability is better assessed on field grown rather than glasshouse grown tubers, although the two are largely in agreement.     

Influence of seed tuber infestation,chemical seed treatment,and pre-harvest climate on incidence of gangrene and dry rot of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Summary In each of the five years 1978 to 1982, seed lots of cv. Bintje, variously infested byPhoma foveata Foister andFusarium solani var.coeruleum (Sacc.) Booth, as found by wound and cut tests, respectively, were planted in a series of field experiments at six sites in Sweden. A statistically significant relationship between seed and progeny infestation was found forP. foveata each year, and in three years forF. solani. Benomyl and thiabendazole mist treatments of seed tubers at grading in spring controlled the development of gangrene and dry rot in treated seed tubers, but did not consistently reduce the levels ofP. foveata andF. solani infestation in progeny from treated seed tubers. The site of cultivation markedly influenced mean levels ofP. foveata infestation, which were found to be related to temperature and rainfall during a 40 day pre-harvest period at the trail sites; however, mean levels ofF. solani infestation were not so related.     

Characterization of Fusarium spp. Causing Potato Dry Rot in China and Susceptibility Evaluation of Chinese Potato Germplasm to the Pathogen

Dry rot is a serious potato disease and causes significant losses in China. Research efforts on potato dry rot have been very limited as well as the attempts to characterize the pathogen in the major potato production regions of China. A total of 260 Fusarium isolates were identified in 698 potato tubers collected in six important potato production regions of northern China, out of which five different Fusarium species, Fusarium sambucinum, F. avenaceum, F. oxysporum, F. equiseti, and F. acuminatum, were isolated. The identification of each species was confirmed by sequencing analysis of ∼700 bp DNA fragment derived from the translation elongation factor-1 alpha gene. F. sambucinum was found to be the predominant species accounting for 56% of the isolates. Different pathogenicity was found to be associated with five most common Fusarium species. Sixty-seven clones used in China were identified as susceptible to F. sambucinum, indicating little scope for developing resistant cultivars using the currently available potato germplasm.     

The role of stem inoculum in the transmission ofFusarium sulphureum to potato tubers

Summary Over 2 years, seed tubers or stems were inoculated withFusarium sulphureum Schlecht. (F. sambucinum Fuckel f. 6 Wollenw.) and the incidence of dry rot on daughter tubers assessed by standardised wound tests. The amount of stem and soil inoculum was also measured in one year. Inoculating stem bases resulted in greater concentrations of spores on the stem bases, greater soil populations at harvest and more dry rot on tubers than inoculating the seed tuber. Overall, the incidence of dry rot and the amount of stem and soil inoculum was similar for the three methods of haulm destruction: cutting and removing the stems, applying sulphuric acid or applying diquat dibromide to the growing plants.     

Comparison of the interactions ofErwinia carotovora ssp.atroseptica withPhytophthora infestans, Phoma foveata andFusarium coeruleum in rotting potato tubers

Summary An interaction betweenP. infestans andE. carotovora subsp.atroseptica (Eca) in rotting tubers was confirmed and the biochemical basis for its occurrence investigated. The pH of tissue infected withP. foveata became alkaline whereas tissue infected withP. infestans orF. coeruleum did not rise above neutrality, which could promote pathogenicity of Eca by maintaining pH closer to the optimum for polygalacturonase activity. Polygalacturonase, pectate lyase and galactanase were detected in cultures of all three fungi grown on media containing cell wall material or pectin from tubers. AsP. infestans produced more polygalacturonase than the other two fungal tuber rot pathogens the possibility was investigated that oligogalacturonide products of enzymatic degradation of pectin byP. infestans stimulates pathogenicity of Eca. However, while tubers soft-rotted after infiltration with supernatant from fungal cultures grown on tuber cell wall material, controls showed that rotting resulted from infiltration rather than the products contained in the infiltrated water.     

云南省玉米茎基腐病病原镰孢菌的种群结构研究

从9个不同州市采取玉米茎基腐病病害样本分离纯化并鉴定其病原,分析云南省玉米茎基腐病的主要病原镰孢菌及分布情况,依据形态特征和rDNA-ITS序列分析,云南省玉米茎基腐病的病原包括Fusarium graminearum(40.74%)、F.verticillioides(37.96%)、F.fujikuroi(3.70%)、F.incarnatum(3.70%)、F.oxysporum(1.85%)、F.proliferatum(1.85%)、F.commune(5.55%)、F.chlamydosporum(2.78%)和F.redolens(1.85%)。F.graminearum和F.verticillioides为优势种,F.graminearum主要分布于昆明及其以东的地区,F.verticillioides主要分布于昆明市及其以西的地区,二者在云南的大部分地区均有分布;其余菌株出现频率均低于5.55%,仅分布在1~3个地区。     

Comparative susceptibility of some potato cultivars to dry rot caused byFusarium sulphureum andF. solani var.coeruleum

Summary The susceptibility of 15 potato cultivars to dry rot caused byFusarium sulphureum andf. solani var.coeruleum was examined over 8 years. Tubers were wounded, inoculated, incubated at 10°C for 7–8 weeks and the size of the rot assessed.F. sulphureum was the more aggressive species. There was little correlation between the rank order of susceptibility of the cultivars to the two pathogens, but a higly significant correlation between years. Two years' tests are deemed sufficient to assess susceptibility to both species.     

Detection ofClavibacter michiganensis subsp.sepedonicus in potato stems and tubers grown from seed pieces with various levels of inoculum

Summary An indirect sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to monitor potato stems of three cultivars for the presence of the ring rot pathogen,Clavibacter michiganensis subsp.sepedonicus, during the growing season and in progeny tubers after harvest. The highest ELISA values were obtained with the highest concentration of bacteria used to inoculate seed pieces in all cultivars tested. Low ELISA values were obtained for stems and progeny tubers selected from plants grown from seed inoculated at lower bacterial concentrations. Estimates of bacterial densities in stems and progeny tubers by immunofluorescence indicated that low ELISA values were most probably caused by low bacterial numbers. It is suggested that the sensitivity of ELISA for detecting the ring rot pathogen in potato stems and progeny tubers is a function of the concentration of bacteria in individual seed pieces.     

Transgenic potatoes expressing anErwinia pectate lyase gene — results of a 4-year field experiment

Summary Four potato lines of cv. Désirée that express the pectate lyase (PL) isoenzyme 3 ofErwinia carotovora subsp.atroseptica were examined in a 4-year field experiment with respect to plant development, tuber yield and resistance of tuber tissue toErwinia soft rot. The PL3 degrades plant cell wall pectin into unsaturated oligogalacturonates eliciting plant defence responses. In one line, enzyme expression was controlled by the CaMV 35S promoter (C) and in three lines it was driven by the potato patatin B33 promoter (D). Plant development of the D-lines in field plots was not distinguishable from that of the non-transgenic counterpart. Also tuber yield was not too different. By contrast, plants of the C-line were smaller than those of the nontransformed counterpart and also showed reduced tuber yield. There were no significant differences in dry mass, starch and protein content of tuber tissue between PL transgenic and non-transgenic potatoes. But compared with the latter, field-grown tubers expressing the PL displayed an enhanced resistance toErwinia soft rot. Thus, average rotting caused byEc-bacteria was diminished in tubers of PL-transgenic lines by 34.1%. The resistance of tubers toEc soft rot was significantly correlated with the PPO activity in tuber tissue.     

Comparison of resistance toFusarium spp. of glasshouse-and field-grown tuber progenies of potato

Summary Field-grown tubers of 22 progenies ofSolanum tuberosum L. generated in a crossing programme involving seven parents differing in resistance toFusarium coeruleum Lib. ex Sacc. andF. sulphureum Schlect. (=F. sambucinum Fuckel, teleomorphGibberella pulicaris (Fr.) Sacc.) were wound-inoculated with a cornmeal + sand culture of each pathogen. Parental genotypes were also included. The mean lesion size of each progeny was compared in 2 years of tests, as well as with published data on glasshouse-grown tubers. ForF. coeruleum there was a high correlation between years as well as with the glasshouse data, but no such correlations were apparent withG. pulicaris. Furthermore, parental and GCA values, as well as progeny means and mid-parent scores, also correlated highly forF. coeruleum but not forG. pulicaris. Glasshouse-grown tubers of 11 wildSolanum spp. were also inoculated with both pathogens. Some resistance to one or other, or both, was apparent, particularly inS. chacoense.     

Storage of seed potatoes in pallet boxes. 1. The role of tuber surface moisture on the population of Erwinia bacteria

Summary Three stocks of seed potatoes contaminated with soft rot Erwinias were stored for 172 days in a commercial pallet box store. Three treatments were applied: naturally ventilated boxes, forced air ventilated boxes and single tubers on trays. Skin resistance values were 2.3, 9.4 and 19.3 megohm respectively. Rewetting events numbered 4, 7 and 15.Erwinia carotovora pv.carotovora (Ecc) andErwinia carotovora pv.atroseptica (Eca) declined in all stocks and treatments. Ecc declined significantly faster in the forced air ventilated treatment. The more frequent rewettings in the trays reverse the benefit of their drier skins. In the earliest sprouting stock, the naturally ventilated, but not the forced ventilated boxes, showed a decrease in skin resistance and corresponding increase in Ecc as spring approached. Forced ventilation in the first 14 days after harvest halved the level of silver scurf compared to the naturally ventilated treatment.     

Inheritance of resistance toFusarium spp. in tuber progenies of potato

Summary Glasshouse-grown seedling tubers of 22 progenies from parents differing in resistance toFusarium coeruleum andF. sulphureum (Gibberella cyanogena) were wound-inoculated with a cornmeal + sand culture of one or other of these dry rot pathogens. WithF. coeruleum, differences between progenies were due entirely to differences in the general combining abilities (gca) of the parents. Parental and gca values were highly correlated, as were the mean resistance of a progeny and that of its parents. WithG. cyanogena the agreement between replicates was poor and differences between progenies were less clear. It is suggested that different resistance mechanisms operate against these two pathogens.     

甘肃省玉米根腐病致病镰孢菌分离与鉴定

为明确甘肃省玉米根腐病致病镰孢菌种类,2017～2019年在甘肃省不同地区采集玉米植株进行组织分离,采用形态学和分子生物学鉴定方法对分离物进行鉴定,按照柯赫氏法则对其致病性进行测定。结果表明,引起甘肃省玉米根腐病的致病镰孢菌为厚垣镰孢Fusarium chlamydosporum、禾谷镰孢F.graminearum、尖镰孢F.oxys-porum、层出镰孢F.proliferatum、茄镰孢F.solani、三线镰孢F.tricinctum、拟轮枝镰孢F.verticillioides和产黄色镰孢F.thapsinum,其中尖镰孢和拟轮枝镰孢为优势镰孢菌,分离频率分别为22.5%和20%。通过致病性测定发现,所有分离的镰孢菌都会引起玉米根系不同程度变褐,导致根系生长缓慢、茎基部溢缩和腐烂、近地部叶片黄化、叶边缘干枯等症状。     

Plant-to-plant transmission of the bacterial ring rot pathogenClavibacter michiganensis subsp.sepedonicus

Summary Plant-to-plant transmission of the bacterial ring rot (BRR) pathogen,Clavibacter michiganensis subsp.sepedonicus (Spieck. et Kott.) Skapt. et Burkh. of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), was studied in field trials over a three year period. Healthy and infected seed tubers were planted 35 cm apart. In one treatment, a subsurface barrier was placed between the healthy and infected seed tubers separating the root systems of neighbouring plants. In this treatment, none of 216 plants grown from healthy seed tubers was infected at harvest, as determined by indirect immunofluorescence antibody staining (IFAS) with monoclonal antibodies. In the other treatment, no subsurface barrier was used. In this treatment, two of 368 plants (0.5%) grown from healthy seed tubers were infected at harvest. It is concluded that plant-to-plant transmission may occur but at very low frequency, and is unlikely to play a significant role compared with the potential of transmission by shared potato handling equipment.