An overview of the common bacterial diseases of potato in Pakistan, associated crop losses and control stratagems

Abstract

Potato, an important food crop and a rich source of nutrients and energy, is widely cultivated under diverse climatic conditions. The crop substantially contributes to the provision of global food supply along with cereals maize, wheat, and rice. In the wave of increasing population of the world and its food requirement, increase in productivity of potato is crucially required. Being a highly adaptable crop to diverse climates, production of the crop is still limited due to different biological and non-biological constraints. Several fungal and bacterial pathogens incite severe diseases in the potato crop. Among the bacterial diseases, common scab (Streptomyces scabiei, S. europaeiscabiei, S. acidiscabiei etc.), soft rot and blackleg (Pectobacterium sp. and Dickeya sp.) and bacterial wilt (Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum) are significant constraints to production output and marketing acceptability of the crop particularly in environments which are conducive to the pathogenicity of these organisms. This review examines commonly prevailing bacterial diseases of potato, their impact on crop yield and respective control measures with a specific focus on the occurrence of such diseases in Pakistan.