Commercial Potato Cultivars Exhibit Distinct Susceptibility to the Root Lesion Nematode Pratylenchus penetrans

Joana Figueiredo,Ivânia Esteves,Paulo Vieira,Isabel Abrantes

doi:10.3390/horticulturae8030244

Joana Figueiredo, Ivânia Esteves + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8030244

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Abstract

The root lesion nematode Pratylenchus penetrans is an important plant-parasitic nematode of potato. In this study, the susceptibility of commercial potato cultivars to P. penetrans was assessed. Nematode penetration was evaluated in cultivars Agria, Camel, Kennebec, Laura, Royata, and Stemster at 1, 3, 7, and 15 days after inoculation (DAI) with 750 nematodes/plant, and an egression assay at 3 DAI with 1000 nematodes/plant. Reproduction assays of cultivars Agata, Agria, Camel, Désirée, Dirosso, Kennebec, Laura, Picasso, Royata, and Stemster were performed in 2 L pots inoculated with four P. penetrans/g soil and quantified at 60 DAI. Tenue or moderate root cell browning to advanced necrotic areas were observed after nematode penetration, and the number of nematodes/g of root gradually increased with time of infection. A lower number of deposited eggs and nematodes were observed within the roots of cultivar Laura in all assays comparatively to other cultivars. The susceptibility index (SI) was significantly lower in cultivar Laura (0.4–0.6), followed by cultivars Camel and Picasso (0.8–0.9). All remaining cultivars showed SI values above 1. Although the potato susceptibility to the nematode varied among cultivars, no differences on the average number or weight of tubers produced by each plant of inoculated versus non-inoculated plants were detected. Our data reveals that these cultivars have a distinct ability to support the reproduction of P. penetrans.

Highlights

Received: 5 February 2022Root lesion nematodes (RLN), Pratylenchus spp., are among the world’s top 10 plantparasitic nematodes (PPN), with major worldwide economic impact with ornamental and tree crops and horticultural plants [1,2]
To define the early root symptoms induced by P. penetrans, we followed thoroughly the nematode infection process at 1, 3, 7, and 15 days after inoculation (DAI), for six potato cultivars (Figure 1)
Despite doing the inoculation in the soil, at 1 DAI, motile stages could be found randomly distributed within the roots of the six cultivars

Summary

Introduction

Root lesion nematodes (RLN), Pratylenchus spp., are among the world’s top 10 plantparasitic nematodes (PPN), with major worldwide economic impact with ornamental and tree crops (e.g., lily, apple, and cherry orchards) and horticultural plants (e.g., alfalfa, bean, carrot, lettuce, potato, and strawberry) [1,2]. Within this genus, P. penetrans [3] Filipjev and Shuurmans Stekhoven, 1941, is considered one the most important species due to its cosmopolitan distribution and wide host range comprising more than 400 plant species [1,4].

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