Effect of haulm treatments on the formation of microsclerotia ofVerticillium dahliae Kleb. on potato

Summary In four pot experiments, potato plants of cv. Element were artificially infected withV. dahliae. At an early and a late harvest haulms were killed chemically, by burning or by various other treatments, including cutting them into pieces of different lengths and keeping the debris on the soil surface or covering with soil. After 4 weeks the plant material was air-dried and the number of microsclerotia per mg was determined. At the early harvest, in two experiments, the chemical treatment yielded more microsclerotia than the cutting treatments. Covering colonised haulm tissue with non-sterilised soil was effective in inhibiting microsclerotia formation. Shorter haulm pieces led to fewer microsclerotia at the later harvest if the material was kept on the soil surface. The variation in microsclerotial yield and in treatment effects among the different experiments was large.